26. Diemenia superciliosa.

Brown Snake.

A species, which like many others, ranges from the East to the West Coast, and perhaps extends over the whole continent, as I have received specimens from Cape York. Near Sydney, and along the East Coast, the young are distinctly black, banded with a black patch upon the head; but the young found on the Lachlan and in other localities to the westward are not banded. I have received specimens from Adelaide which are plain coloured with black patches upon head and neck, but without bands. In a few years these bands and black spots disappear more or less, and the adult snake is generally of an uniform brown color; there are some individuals on the coast, however, in which the bands may be traced when full grown. In the specimens taken on the Murray no bands or black marks could be detected.

This snake is highly venomous, and produces some 20 eggs, which are deposited in the sand under some bramble or decayed leaves; it is frequently confounded with the following species.