AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 
45 
angle behind; occipitals rounded behind, forked; superciliaries moderate, 
prominent above the eye, two posterior oculars; one anterior (in one 
specimen two), deeply grooved before the eye, raised above the surface of 
the crown, but not reaching the vertical; two nasals (nostral between), 
anterior one largest, bent on the front of snout; six upper labials, third 
and fourth forming the lower edge of orbit, sixth largest, one larger, 
rhomboid, temporal shield in contact with lower postorbital, some others 
behind scale-like ; six lower labials, and a very small scale-like shield 
behind; first pair lower labials very long, forming a long suture 
behind the medial one; the second small, narrow, and only one-fourth of the 
third; the fourth pair very large, in one specimen six-sided, in contact 
with the fifth, and with two chin-scales behind; scales rather elongate, 
rhomboidal, smooth, in seventeen rows, on the neck in nineteen or twenty- 
one rows; anal bifid; all subcaudals two-rowed ; upper jaw with one 
fang in front, separated from the following by an interval; an elongate 
series of five to six teeth behind, which are not grooved; palatine teeth 
equal; anterior teeth of lower jaw longest; brownish olive, or blackish 
olive; back of trunk, and tail, with ten to twelve very broad brown or 
black cross bands, the first on the neck being darkest; adult specimens 
exhibit the bands more or less obsolete, so as to become nearly uniform, 
the neck being always blackish brown, or ornamented Avith an angular 
broAATi spot; belly uniformly yellowish, in young individuals black-spotted. 
Length of cleft of mouth 1"; length of tail 1'; total length 5' 4". 
The above is Dr. Gunther’s original description. The habitat of this 
snake is given as North-west Australia and Port Essington. 
PSBTTDECHIS, Wagler. 
Body rather elongate and rounded; tail moderate, not distinct from 
trunk, tapering; head not distinct from neck, moderate, quadrangular, 
Avith moderate rounded muzzle; shields of croAvn moderate; two nasals, 
nostril betAveen; no loreal; one anterior, two posterior oculars; scales 
smooth, imbricate, in seventeen rows; anal bifid; first subcaudals entire, 
hinder ones tAvo-roAved (exceptionally all entire). Grooved fang in front; 
some smaller, ones not grooA r ed behind. 
