Common Brown Snake, Pseudonaja textilis #2

Plate 32. Two-hooded Furina-Snake, Furina bicucullata (now known as Common Brown Snake, Pseudonaja textilis textilis) found at Longwood

This rare and beautiful little snake is a clear example of the genus Furina, distinguished from Diemenia* by there being only a single nasal plate pierced by the small nostril, instead of two with the nostril between them.

No other Australian snake has the middle of the body marked with narrow black bands, often imperfect, on alternate sides like the example figured, but three other specimens of the same size are without them.

The specimen figured was found in a torpid state under a piece of bark in July at Longwood, by Mr. Harry Tubb, who presented it to the Museum collection; it has 202 ventral scales and 64 subcaudals, all divided. A second specimen, 12 inches long, was presented by Dr. McCrea; it has no bands on body and the spots on ventral scales are greyish.

View plate and full description in the Biodiversity Heritage Library