505 



CYANEAN SNAKt. 



tinged with yellovv^ as they approach the abdomen, 

 which is clouded with a mixture of brown and 

 yellow : the head is small, covered in front, as in 

 most of the innoxious snakes, with moderately 

 large scales : the teeth rather large, and so far as 

 could be judged from the dried specimens hither- 

 to examined, unaccompanied by any poisonous 

 fangs : the abdominal scuta remarkably narrow, 

 scarce extending from side to side more than a 

 fourth of the diameter of the body : the tail short, 

 and gradually tapering to a slender point. Thd 

 number of abdominal scuta and subcaudal scales, 

 from the imperfect manner in which the dried 

 skins have been imported, is not ascertainable. 

 An extremely good general representation of this 

 species may be found in Mr. White's Journal of a 

 Voyage to New South Wales, as well as of some 

 other Australasian snakes, which have hitherto 

 been only described in a cursory manner^ from 

 dried specimens. 



CYANEAN SNAKE. 



Coluber Cyaneus. C. cyaneus, stibtus vuescens^ 

 Deep-blue Snake, greenisa beneath. 

 Coluber cyaneus. Lin. Syst. Nat, p. 380. 

 Anguiculus Surinamensis cyaneus. Seb. 2. t, 43./. 2^ 

 Abdominal scuta 119, subcaudal scales 110. 



A RATHER small species : allied in colour, as. 

 well as in shape, to the Ahcetulla, being of a deep 

 blue.above, and greenish beneath : head of mode- 



