44 
MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 
seized in the middle of the body, the snake’s jaws gradually work along until the 
head is reached. These snakes are also fond of frogs and small birds. Our 
specimens thrive well in captivity. 
Remarkable changes of colour are sometimes exhibited by the common 
Jew or Bearded Lizard, Am.phibolurus bar bat us, Gray. Specimens which are 
normally brownish grey and in which the characteristic colour markings are not 
very conspicuous are quite transfigured when angry. The whole of the head 
and gular tissues capable of distension (the ‘ 4 bearded” portion) become quite 
black. This chameleon-like change extends even to the ends of the prickles. 
With the yellow mouth wide agape and the surrounding black, the little reptile 
looks quite dangerous as it faces its supposed foes. When the excitement has 
subsided it regains its ordinary colouring in a short time, and the black com- 
plexion of anger is a thing of the past. Older specimens, especially males, 
are permanently darker, and the series of five or six pairs of lighter spots on 
each side of the vertebral line are by no means so noticeable as in the young. 
In captivity the Bearded and Frilled Lizards feed freely on grass- 
hoppers, beetles, cockroaches, and similar insects. Moths and butterflies are also 
taken, and a big spider is not always disdained. A glass jar containing 
cockroaches was often placed inside the case, and the lizards tried to bite 
through the glass, and seemed never to learn the lesson of its transparent 
impregnability. In their native element these lizards must destroy large 
quantities of grasshoppers and other pests, and it is unfortunate that so few 
farmers are aware of this. At present they are considered fair prey for the 
dogs or are ruthlessly killed with a stick. The Frilled Lizard is a bizarre and 
harmless animal possessing several unique characteristics which have been 
described at great length, and it is now by no means common. Efforts are 
being made to encourage its protection in Southern Queensland. 
The Australian Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacits, Shaw, must be 
included with those venomous reptiles which enjoy an occasional cannibalistic 
meal. In order to provide temporary accommodation, a large specimen of 
Dicmenia psammophis , Schleg., was placed in a small vivarium with a Black 
Snake nearly twice as large. For two days the two lived amicably together, 
but on the following day the Diemenia disappeared into the interior of its 
comrade. 
R. L. Ditmars, who has placed on record many valuable observations on 
the feeding habits of snakes, states that members of the Australian genera 
Pseudechis, Diemenia, and Brachyaspis prefer small mammals and birds to 
other food, adding: “None could be coaxed to take batrachians, which appeared 
