Black-headed Snake, Aspidiotes melanocephalus

The print depicted here was included in Krefft's 700- copy limited edition Snakes of Australia published by the Government Printer though financed by Krefft himself in 1869. Plate III of the Krefft book is the Black-headed Snake, and was drawn and lithographed by Harriet Scott, sister of Helena Forde. Also known as the Tar-pot, Black-headed Python, or Black-headed Rock Snake, this snake is non-venomous and measures 2.6 metres in length. Harriet's distinctive depiction of the black head, in contrast to the rest of the body, captures the ability of this snake to absorb heat through its head and neck area while limiting its total body exposure. Normally preferring caves, crevices and hollow logs for its microhabitat, the animal portrayed here is dramatically coiled around intersecting branches of a eucalypt tree. Gerard Krefft, born in Germany in 1830, became one of Australia's early herpetologists, and in 1858 was appointed to the museum in Melbourne after returning with sketches from a Victorian government specimen collecting expedition. At the time that Snakes of Australia was written and published (1865-1869), Krefft was the Secretary and an Assistant Curator at the Australian Museum in Sydney. Krefft had from an early age shown skills in drawing and was himself an artist and draughtsman. While living in New York, and before moving to Australia, he had studied and copied some of Audubon's works. Gerard Krefft was lauded at the Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition of 1870 for his published research on Australian snakes, and Harriet Scott and her sister received a Very High Commendation for the striking artwork that accompanied Krefft's text.