[77] The largest specimen measured—
| Inch. | |
|---|---|
| Length of the body | 4½ |
| Length of the claw | 3⁶⁄₈ |
| Breadth of the shield | 1⅜ |
| Breadth of the claw | 1⅛ |
| Breadth of expanded tail | 1⅞ |
| Length of the anterior antennæ | 4²⁄₈ |
| Length of the posterior antennæ | 1½ |
The colour of the upper part of the body, in the large specimens, was brownish green; the upper part of the claws blueish green, occasionally mottled; under surface, whitish; joints, red. The smaller specimens had the upper surface of the body of a dark green colour, claws blueish green and mottled: several of the females had a quantity of ova in the usual situation.
[78] In March the season commences, at Sydney, for “cray-fish,” which are caught in large quantities, and of enormous size, about the sea-coast, and are hawked about the streets at a cheap rate; therefore, in this colony, cray-fish abound in the sea, and lobsters in the river.
[79] Both the black and brown snakes take to the water on the appearance of danger; indeed they evidently procure their food from the banks of streams, and may be considered both land and water snakes.
[80] From the following paragraph, copied from the “Sydney Herald” newspaper, the bite of this reptile does not prove so immediately fatal as had been represented to me.
“The overseer of Mr. Cox, at Mulgoa, a few days since, was bitten by a yellow snake. The piece was cut out, but the unfortunate man still remains in a dangerous state.”—October 25th, 1832.
[81] There is a fine stuffed specimen of this reptile deposited in the Colonial Museum, in which the colours are well retained.
[82] For an account of this unnatural fact, and the supposed cause that produced it, see a separate account in the Appendix, at the end of the second volume.
[83] This occasioned a lady at home to declare, that of all the wonderful productions of Australia, she thought nothing could equal the “feathered donkey.”