50 AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGY, 
besides the two sinall fangs, there are six small solid teeth behind 
the fang on the left side, and seven on the right. ‘There are also 17 
small, solid, equal, palatine teeth on the left side, and 18 on the 
right in the same specimen. There are 17 rows of scales across the 
middle of the back. ‘They are large, flat, rhombic, and smooth. 
The ventral plates are from 190 to 216. ‘The subcaudals are from 57 
to 73. The anal plate is double. ‘he colour of the head, the upper 
part of the body, and the tail is nearly uniform olive-brown with a 
slight bronze reflection, ‘The lower surface is of a lighter tint of 
pale yellowish-grey, the edges of the scales being darker coloured 
with a glassy lustre. ‘The anterior part of the abdomen is freckled 
with pale brownish spots, the hinder partis dotted with grey. In 
South Australia this snake varies very much in colourand markings. 
Old specimens vary from light brown to entirely black, young ones 
show the black marking on the head and neck very distinctly. 
They are sometimes irregularly black-banded. ‘The eyes are black 
with a yellow line round the pupil. The skin between the scales is 
greyish, 
Specimens. —The following table shows the number of scales, 
&e., in seven individuals which are preserved in the Melbourne 
Museum :— 


Scales of Back! Plates. Length. 
Locality. ; hover | [a ea 
- Acro: . \* ‘ + 
nid dl peat Bh. Tail. | Total. | Tail, 
ri oan iT > Tues ee ere | ft. an. | in. 
1. S. Brighton (young)... ..| 17| 15) 190| 46/1 10] 3} 
2. Heidelberg (average) ..| 17} 14 12041 57/4 3 74 
3. Queenscliff... ... .. ..| 17| 15/197! 63/5 6 | 11 
4+. Murray Downs... ... ..| 17] 14] 200] 57/3 6 64 
5. Sebastian, Sandhurst ..| 17/ 15} 201! 73/3 6 7 
6. Footscray ... ... .-. ..| 17] 14] 206] 60/4 5 9 
7. Mélbohtneisle a esey ees 17 15 | 202 627) 767 2 9} 

Habits and Food.—Similar to those of the black snake described 
elsewhere. 
Where found.—The brown snake is more generally distributed 
than any of the others, being equally common from the south coast 
of Victoria to the north of Australia. Speaking generally, its 
habitat is Australia and New Guinea: The Macleay Museum at 
the Sydney University exhibits one from King George’s Sound. It 
is the most common of the dangerous snakes in South Australia; it 
is sometimes caught in Adelaide and its suburbs. The largest 
obtained in that colony was 54 feet long—the same length as the 
finest Victorian exhibit. Brown snakes are numerous near ‘lemora, 
N.S.W. In Jan., 1894, a farmer’s son at Red Hill killed four 
in his bedroom one night, and six near a haystack 30 yards away 
on the next morning. They were from four to five feet long. 


