AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 55 
The scales of the body are always arranged in 15 rows, and are 
consequently larger than those of H. curtus, which has from 17 to 19 
rows; no bands are formed, and though the neck is rather rounded, the 
reptile appears to have the power of dilating it at will. 
A single individual from Port Lincoln shows a very dark crown, a 
much distended neck, with two darker streaks resembling the marks on 
the neck of the Indian Naja. In this variety the scales are also in 15 
rows, but smaller and rather more triangular than in the Tasmanian 
species. The range of this snake has been considered to be limited to 
Tasmania, where it is known as the “Diamond Snake,” but during the last 
few years specimens from other parts of Australia have come tohand. The 
reptile inhabits Tasmania, Victoria, South and West Australia, and probably 
the western counties of New South Wales, though it has not yet been 
found on the east coast. Its habits are probably similar to those of H. 
curtus, which is fond of the water, and frequents extensive swamps and 
reed beds, or the banks of rivers or creeks. Frogs, lizards, young water 
rats, &c., appear to be the principal food of this snake. The female is said 
to produce a large number of young, which, in Tasmania, are brought forth 
about the end of December. The strength of its poison has not been tested 
with certainty, as the snake is confounded, in Victoria in particular, with 
the Tiger or Brown-banded Snake (H. curtus), which species is generally 
alluded to when experiments have been made. From the examination of 
its teeth, one would conclude that it is of a highly venomous nature. 
Young specimens, if not more than two years old, have a very distinct 
vertebral line, a scale wide from a little below the head to the end of the 
tail; the head is also lighter in color than in adults. 
FLiInDERS’ Snake. Hoplocephalus ater. 
| (Plate XI, fig. 11.) 
Hoplocephalus ater, Krefft, Proc. Zool. Soc., June 26th, 1866. 
Scales in 17 rows. 
Abdominal plates, 162. 
One anal plate. 
Subcaudals, 47. 
Total length, about 30 inches. 
Head, 2 inch. 
Tail, 5 inches. 
