Australia suffers from an abundance of Elapine snakes, of which we will mention only the three commonest.
Pseudechis e.g. Ps. porphyriaceus, the "Black Snake" of Australia, has seventeen rows of smooth scales on the body, a few more on the neck, which however is not, or is only slightly, dilated. A few of the sub-caudal scales are undivided, the rest are paired. The head is distinct from the neck; the pupil is round. Total length up to 5 or 6 feet. The general colour above is black, with the outer row of scales red at the base; the ventral scales are red with black edges. The females are generally more brown than black, and are therefore sometimes known as "Brown Adders." They live on small mammals, birds, lizards and other snakes.
Notechis scutatus s. Hoplocephalus curtus, the "Tiger Snake," has rather small eyes with round pupils. The head is distinct from the cylindrical body, which is covered with fifteen to nineteen rows of smooth scales. The sub-caudals are single. The head of this variably coloured snake is mostly black, the body olive brown with dark cross-bands; towards the tail the coloration becomes more uniformly blackish. The under parts are pale yellow. The range of this very common snake extends over Tasmania and Australia.
Acanthophis antarcticus, the "Death Adder," is easily recognised by the peculiar tail, the end of which is laterally compressed, beset with a few rows of enlarged imbricating scales, and terminates in a thin horny spine. The head is distinct from the neck, and flat; the eye has a vertical pupil. The short and thick body is covered with twenty-one or twenty-three rows of keeled scales. The anterior caudals are single, the posterior double. The colours of the upper parts are a mixture of brown, reddish and yellow, with dark cross-bands. The belly is pale yellow, often spotted with brown or black. The end of the tail is yellow, reddish brown or black. The total length of this stout and ugly viviparous creature remains under 3 feet. It is widely distributed from South Australia to the Moluccas. The use of the peculiar tail very probably consists in attracting or fixing the attention of small animals; the snake, lying coiled up on a dry and sandy spot, slightly raising and vibrating the tip of the tail.
Elaps is an entirely American genus, with many species, most of which are extremely prettily coloured, red and black in alternate rings being a favourite pattern. The maxillaries carry no teeth behind the poison-fangs. The scales of the body are smooth and form fifteen rows. The tail is short. The small eye has mostly a vertical pupil. The head is very small, not distinct from the neck. The squamosal and quadrate bones are short, and the gape of the mouth is so limited that these beautiful snakes, although possessing strong poison, are practically harmless to man. One of the prettiest is E. corallinus of the forests of Tropical South America and the Lesser Antilles. The whole body, above and below, is adorned with about twenty deep black rings, which are edged with yellow and again separated by red rings equalling in width the black ones. Sometimes the red rings are dotted with black, and the black dots may form additional rings between the red and the yellow. Total length under 3 feet.
Sub-Fam. 2. Hydrophinae (Sea-Snakes).–The tail is strongly compressed, sometimes the body also. All the scales are small, and there are often no enlarged ventrals. The eyes are small, with round pupils. All these snakes are very poisonous and live in the sea, often at considerable distances from the land, with the exception of one species of Distira, D. semperi, which is confined to the land-locked freshwater Lake Taal at Luzon in the Philippines. They live on fish, and range from the Persian Gulf to Central America. In conformity with their absolutely aquatic life they are viviparous, and they die when kept out of the water for any length of time. About fifty species are known.
Enhydrina valakadien s. bengalensis has scales with a small tubercle or keel, which is stronger in the males; the ventrals are very small, forming a scarcely enlarged series. The maxillaries carry two or more small grooved teeth in addition to the poison-fangs. The back is olive or dark grey, with black transverse bands, which are most distinct in the young. The under parts are white. This species ranges from Persia to the Malay Islands.
Fig. 170.–Enhydrina valakadien (left upper figure) and Hydrophis obscura (right lower figure). × ¼.
Hydrophis e.g. H. obscura.–The body is long; the head and neck are very slender, the body becoming much thicker farther back. The small teeth behind the poison-fangs are not grooved. The ventral scales are very small, the others are keeled, strongly so in the males. The general coloration of this Sea-Snake, which reaches about one yard in length, is dark olive-green above with yellowish cross-bars, which form complete rings round the slender part of the body. Other specimens are pale olive, with dark cross-bands. This species occurs in the Bay of Bengal and the Malay Archipelago.