AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 
49 
Body and tail moderate, rounded, tapering behind; head not very 
distinct from neck, depressed, with flat crown and broad muzzle, obtuse in 
front. Rostral shield broad, narrow, rounded behind, not much raised 
above surface of crown; anterior frontals broad, short; posterior ones 
much larger, bent down on the sides, replacing the loreal, in contact with 
second and third labials ; vertical five-sided, with such obtuse lateral 
angles as nearly to be three-sided, elongate, and with a very acute angle 
behind; occipitals moderate, rounded and forked behind; superciliary 
moderate; two posterior oculars ; anterior ocular forming only the upper 
half of anterior edge of eye, the lower one being formed by the third 
labial; no loreal, one nasal, pierced by the nostril; seven upper labials, 
third and fourth coming into the orbit; one larger temporal shield in 
contact with both oculars, five smaller ones behind, scale-like. Scales 
smooth, short, large, with rounded apex, in fifteen rows; anal bifid; 
subcaudals two-rowed. Eye small, pupil elliptical, erect. Upper jaw 
with a grooved fang in front, separated from the other teeth by an interval; 
an elongate series of six to seven teeth behind; palatine teeth equal in 
length; anterior teeth of lower jaw longest. Above brown, each scale 
with a yellow spot in the centre ; spots in younger individuals occupying 
nearly the whole scale, so as to give the appearance of the scales being 
yellow, brown-edged; crown of head and neck black, separated by a broad 
white collar, very conspicuous in younger individuals, gradually becoming 
obsolete; belly uniformly yellowish. The oviduct of one specimen contained 
eight mature eggs, but without embryo. Length of egg ■§"; breadth of 
egg (Gunther.) 
There is nothing to add to the present description, except that 
“ the broad white collar” is bright scarlet in living specimens, and that 
the anterior part of the under lip is always black; the head is very 
distinct from the trunk; and the largest example which was ever obtained 
for the Museum collection is but 14 inches long. Our figure is considerably 
enlarged. 
Specimens of this very handsome little snake have been received 
from almost every part of Australia north of the Murray River. The 
Museum examples arc all from the east coast—the most northern ones from 
Cleveland Bay. 
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