AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 53 
HOPLOCHPHALUS, Cwier. 
Body and tail moderate, sometimes stout; head quadrangular, 
sometimes rather depressed, and not distinct from neck ; with flat crown, 
and moderate rounded muzzle. Rostral moderate, no loreal—replaced by 
the conjunction of posterior frontal, of anterior ocular, and of second upper 
labial and nasal ; one anterior, and two posterior oculars; one nasal, pierced 
by the nostril. Scales smooth, and not much imbricated, in fifteen to 
twenty-one rows. Anal and subcaudals entire. Grooved fang in front; 
a series of smaller equal teeth behind. (Viviparous.) 
BROWN-BANDED SNAKE. Hoplocephalus curtus. 
(Plate IX and plate XT, fig. 6.) 
Naja curta, Schlegel, Ess. II, p. 486, and Abbild., t. 48, f.19, 20. Ginther, Cat. Colub. 
Snakes in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 216. 
Scales in 18 rows anteriorly, and in 19 rows posteriorly. 
Abdominal plates, 170 or more. 
One anal plate. 
Subcaudals in a single series, 40 to 50. 
Total length, from 5 to 6 feet. 
Head, 14 inch. 
Tail, 7 inches. 
Body moderately elongate; tail moderate, not distinct from trunk; 
head large and broad, crown flat, and muzzle rounded. The middle plate 
of the head (the vertical shield) is almost square—a distinguishing charac- 
teristic between this snake and the Hoplocephalus superbus. 
The body scales are elongate, of equal size, and do not overlap each 
other much; there is a considerable piece of black skin between them, 
which shews very distinctly when stretched, or when the reptile, being 
angry, flattens its body. In this species the color varies considerably, 
from grey to almost black, with distinct or indistinct bands, and straw 
yellow or bright orange abdominal plates. In West Australian specimens 
the bands are very dark and distinct, but like marking occurs in N.S. 
Wales species also. The younger the snakes, the clearer the bands are 
defined, and living subjects are generally copper-colored. 
The posterior abdominal plates and the subcaudals are darker and 
more clouded with grey or black than the anterior ones. Tasmanian 
specimens differ; they are either black, with a yellow, more or less spotted 
