THE ORDER OF SHAKES— OPJIIDIA. 
a 
mond River District, a new form lias been discovered wliicli differs from 
other Australian venomous species in having scales strongly keeled; this 
species has been described as Tropidechis carvncita. A small ringed snake 
with a very short head and tail, belonging to the South American genus 
Brachyurophis, is met with on the Clarence, as also are many other dimi¬ 
nutive Ophidians which do not inhabit the southern districts. There the 
Diamond Snake disappears, and the sombre-coloured Carpet Snake takes 
its place, but no other Rock Snake is observed until the tropics are fairly 
entered. 
Northern Queensland is rich in harmless Pythons ; Nardoa gilbertii 
and Aspidiotes melanocephalus occur near Port Denison, and at the Gulf 
of Carpentaria two species of the genus Liasis have heen observed. The 
harmless Presh-water Snakes Cerberus australis and Myron richardsonii 
appear to be restricted in then- habitat to the northern rivers. 
A second harmless Tree Snake Dendrophis calligastra has lately 
been discovered near Cape York, and a variety of the Australian Brown 
Tree Snake Dip>sas fusca extends even to New Ireland. This large island 
produces a second Tree Snake belonging to the genus Dendrophis, pro¬ 
bably a new species, and a Python (Liasis amethystinus ) which grows to 
a considerable size. The islands to the south-east of the Solomon Group 
are inhabited by harmless Pythons only. Enygrus bibronii is the most 
common of them, and found on the Solomon, New Hebrides, and Piji 
Group, and the rarer Bolyeria multicarinata, which is generally hut 
erroneously recorded by Poreign naturalists as inhabiting the shores of 
Port Jackson, must also he referred to the islands east of New Guinea. 
We believe that a small venomous snake allied to the Australian 
genus Diemenia is peculiar to Yiti Levu, the principal island of the Pijis, 
hut no large or dangerous venomous snake is on record from any other 
locality in the South Pacific. At New Caledonia no snakes have yet been 
noticed; they are also absent from New Zealand, where a few lizards and 
frogs only represent the reptilia fauna. 
Twenty-one innocuous and forty-two venomous Australian snakes 
have been described, but of the latter not more than five species are dan¬ 
gerous to man or the larger animals, and these retire under ground for 
nearly five months in the year. It is, of course, most desirable to dis¬ 
tinguish the dangerous from the harmless species by external characters ; 
