Summary

Colour plate of a juvenile Eastern Brown Snake, Pseudechis textilis, from Longwood, Victoria, by Arthur Bartholomew, 8 July 1879. This work was commissioned by Frederick McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, for Plate 32 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals.

The description associated with Plate 32 is McCoy's original description of Furina bicucullata, and the illustrated specimen (NMV D 1832) is the lectotype of that species. At the time, McCoy was unaware that Eastern Brown Snake hatchlings have black patcesh on top of the head and nape, and often narrow dark bands covering the body. As the snakes mature, the bands and dark patces usually fade.

Bartholomew's illustration forms part of the much larger Prodromus Collection. Many of the original illustrations and prints in the collection informed the production of The Prodromus, the first major publication of the National Museum of Victoria. Between 1878 and 1890, McCoy published his zoology 'Prodromus' as 20 parts in two volumes, with each part comprising 20 Plates. Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or

Description of Content

Common Brown Snake, Pseudonaja textilis (Dumeril, Bibron & Dumeril) by Arthur Bartholomew. Colour proof, lithographic ink on paper, 19cm x 28cm. Published as plate 32 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by Frederick McCoy.

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