Whole body covered with spear shaped scales; head shining black; the ground colours of the back rich umber, almost black; scuta 161, of a dirty red orange; fangs two on each side of the upper jaw near the lios, small, and bent inwards; tongue forked.
This is the most fatal of the New Holland snakes; the animal bitten seldom recovers.

The Aborigines have a great dread of this reptile; they however eat of it if they kill it themselves, but there is a superstition amongst them about snakes, which prevents their eating them if killed by a European.
The specimen I figured was a small one, 3 ft.

9 in.

long; they are often seen by the natives much larger.

I have endeavoured to represent it as it generally sleeps or lies in wait for its prey, small birds, frogs, lizards, etc.