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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST

" Some Tasmanian Reptiles"Snakes are undoubtedly the represen-tatives ot this division of OUr fauna towhich moat attention is paid by the

casual observer, yet, strange to Ray verylittle regard is given to their classification, . and Tasmania is credited oftenwith numerous species which it does notposses!.

There are but two classes of snakes inTasmania, the ordinary venomous laudsnakes, and the rare (as ta.' as our island ;8concerned) sea snakes. The number 'J tspecies is very limited, as the land snakeshave but three representatives, whilstbut two species of sea snakes occasionalIy wander as far South as the Tasmaniancoast.There are no I.r.rmless snakes in TaRmania, nor have we any tree snakes, PYthons or death adders. The three teTrestial Tasman"ian snakes

Are All Poisonous.but theBe constitute the sole danger in tbebush. The various species of lizardswhich are reterred to so often as "deathndders/" "blood suckers," or othft,r suchdesignations, are, in Ieality. quite harm-less. The most evenly distributed, as , ~ e l los the most dangerous Tasmanian rej)'ble,is the tiger snake (Notechis 8 c u t n t m ~ ) .Care must always be taken when dealingwith the tiger 8 n a k e ~ especially in the earlysummer. which is the breeding seaRon. Thisspecies. as with o t h e r s ~ shows very considera1l1e variation as regnnls coloration,and the various vernacular designationRwhich have been given to the ('olor varieties has tended to confm;e matters. Forinstance, bush dwellers uFlually refer tl)the dark colored snakes aB black flnnkes.and the lighter torms as ~ a r p e t snakes.Both terms are incorrect, as neither thetrue black snake. which has paired eaudflls. nor the true ('arpet snnke. occur inTnsmania. The typical tiger snake has thebody scates in 16 to 18 rows, ventrnlplates 150 or more, nnd the sub caudalsWhich nre entire, 40 to GO. The centralscale on the head

Is Shield Shaped.almost 8S broad as long. This featurenlone immeiiintely distingnishe.:: i t fromth: other species. ' In t h ~ typically mark-eel specimens the body color- is goldenb r ( l w n ~ crossed by almost 50 bands ot darltbrown. Tbe average length i . 5 feet, and

t h e r ~ iF! one specimen in tbe Tasmanian

;. .(22)

Museum which measures 00 len t h a h G!et ~ i inchell.The only othel' Tas < .anino snake whiehat nU approaches the tiger snake in si.t,ts the superb sna.ke (Denilmnia luperbu).This B p e ~ i e B is also known nJl( the coppcheaded snake, the large BCflled Inake. andtbe diamond snake. ':'11e last deaianatiollb totaI1y incorrect, as the true diamondsnalte is a python and a variety of thf' ,carpet snake which do'; not occur i l l 'Tasmnnia. In the superb snake the central shield in the head is approximatel,twice aB long as broad. '.rhe color variesfrom bl.ck to reddish. hrown. ...billt tb.average lengtb is from three to ftye feet.As t

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THE TASMANIAN NATURALISTgroup is but a relic of a bygone fauna,8uch visitors tend to be le8S and less inthe progress of the years.

Lizards and the Harmless Dragon.Returning to the land fauDa. there

are Borne in tel'cMting examples amongstthe numerous lizards which occur in theislanu. I l ~ o r instance, t'he several mountain dragons which are commonly metwith under rocks, etc., especially on thehillsides. These interesting little animals. which are repulsive-looking insome ways,Are Quite Harmless,

'although generally credited with beingdangerous "blood-suckers," Rnd numbersare often killed by those \V'ho do not understand the true plaee of these lizard.

in the scheme of Nature. There are al80the severa'i rock lizards occasionally referred to as "death adders," and credited with being possessed of many poisonous qualities, w1hich they do not have.Two SpeciC9 ')f the large blue-tongneciIi?ard !lre met with in Tasmania, andthey arc often referred to ns "(r0annas"or "iguanas," but su()h designatIOns aremisleading, as iguanas are much largerreptiles, of a different character, andwhich occllr on the mainland.1n addition to the foregoing there aren large number of species of the smalllizards, which occur in such numbers,not only in the bush, but in suburbanr,ardens. ~ I o s t of these lack verna()ulardesignations, although they have naturo.lIy been duly classified with regard totheil' scientific titles. Gllve Lord.

Section 10.The. Attack 0/ the Weather

In the previous sections we have seenhow masses of the earth's crust may beraised ahove t h ~ general level, and soform land and how thef{e masses ma Ybe added to. But immediately a sect;onof land appears above the level of theocean and even before it is attacked byvarIous proce.