| Aipysurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Aipysurus laevis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrophiinae |
| Genus: | Aipysurus Lacépède, 1804 [1] |
Aipysurus [n 1] is a genus of venomous snakes in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. Member species of the genus are found in warm seas from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
The first description of the genus Aipysurus was published by Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1804, accommodating his description of a new species found in Australian seas, Aipysurus laevis , the type species of the genus. The description was accompanied by an illustration of the new species. [1] The genus is one of a small group of the viviparous sea snakes (Hydrophiinae: Hydrophiini) with Emydocephalus , also mostly restricted to the seas between Timor, New Guinea and northern Australia. [4]
The following species are recognised in the genus Aipysurus: [5]
| Image | Species | Authority | Common name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aipysurus apraefrontalis | M.A. Smith, 1926 | Short-nosed sea snake | Western Australia | |
| Aipysurus duboisii | Bavay, 1869 | Reef shallows sea snake; Dubois' sea snake | coastal areas of Australia | |
 | Aipysurus eydouxii | (Gray, 1849) | Spine-tailed sea snake; Marbled sea snake; Beaded sea snake | Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam and New Guinea |
| Aipysurus foliosquama | M.A. Smith, 1926 | Leaf-scaled sea snake | Ashmore and Cartier Islands | |
| Aipysurus fuscus | (Tschudi, 1837) | Dusky sea snake | Timor Sea between Australia, Indonesia and East Timor | |
 | Aipysurus laevis | Lacépède, 1804 | Olive-brown sea snake; Olive sea snake | Great Barrier Reef |
| Aipysurus mosaicus | Sanders et al., 2012 [4] | Mosaic sea snake | Northern Australia and New Guinea | |
 | Aipysurus pooleorum | Smith, 1974 | Shark Bay sea snake | Western Australia, midwest coast (Shark Bay) |
| Aipysurus tenuis | Lönnberg & Andersson, 1913 | Arafura sea snake | Western Australia, from near Dampier to Broome, and in the Arafura Sea | |
Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Aipysurus.
A subspecies nominated in 1974 as A. laevis pooleorum was elevated in 1983 to full species status, as A. pooleorum, without explanation by the authors. The same revision (Wells and Wellington, 1983) also resurrected the species name Aipysurus jukesii (Gray, 1846), recognised as a synonym of Lacépède's Aipysurus laevis . [4]
Hydrophiinae is a subfamily of venomous snakes in the family Elapidae. It contains most sea snakes and many genera of venomous land snakes found in Australasia, such as the taipans (Oxyuranus), tiger snakes (Notechis), brown snakes (Pseudonaja) and death adders (Acanthophis).
Acanthophis is a genus of elapid snakes. Commonly called death adders, they are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, and are among the most venomous snakes in the world. Despite their common name, they are not adders at all and belong to the Elapidae family. The name of the genus derives from the Ancient Greek akanthos/ἄκανθος ('spine') and ophis/ὄφις ('snake'), referring to the spine on the death adder's tail.
Aipysurus eydouxii, commonly known as the beaded sea snake, the marbled seasnake, and the spine-tailed seasnake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. A. eydouxii is unusual amongst sea snakes in that it feeds almost exclusively on fish eggs. As part of this unusual diet, this species has lost its fangs, and the venom glands are almost entirely atrophied.
Hydrophis viperinus, commonly known as the viperine sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae (Hydrophiinae).
Sea snakes, or coral reef snakes, are elapid snakes that inhabit marine environments for most or all of their lives. They belong to two subfamilies, Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae. Hydrophiinae also includes Australasian terrestrial snakes, whereas Laticaudinae only includes the sea kraits (Laticauda), of which three species are found exclusively in freshwater. If these three freshwater species are excluded, there are 69 species of sea snakes divided among seven genera.
Pseudechis is a genus of venomous snakes in the family Elapidae. It contains the group of elapid species commonly referred to as the black snakes. Species of Pseudechis are found in every Australian state with the exception of Tasmania, and some species are found in Papua New Guinea. They inhabit a variety of habitat types, from arid areas to swampland. All species are dangerous and can inflict a potentially lethal bite. Most snakes in this genus reach about 2 m (6.6 ft) in total length, and vary in colour. Some species are brown, whereas others are black. The most recognisable and widespread species in the genus are the red-bellied black snake and the mulga snake. These snakes feed on lizards, frogs, birds, small mammals, and even other snakes. All species of Pseudechis lay eggs with the exception of the red-bellied black snake P. porphyriacus which is viviparous. The genus Pailsus is a synonym of Pseudechis, and more work is needed to understand species limits among the smaller species of the group.
Hydrophis is a genus of sea snakes, venomous snakes in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. Species in the genus Hydrophis are typically found in Indo-Australian and Southeast Asian waters. Currently, around 36 species are recognized as being valid.
Aipysurus laevis is a species of venomous sea snake found in the Indo-Pacific. Its common names include golden sea snake, olive sea snake, and olive-brown sea snake.
Hydrophis peronii, commonly known as the horned sea snake, Peron's sea snake, and the spiny-headed seasnake, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to the western tropical Pacific Ocean. It is the only sea snake with spines on the head. It is sometimes placed in its own genus Acalyptophis.
Aipysurus duboisii, also known commonly as Dubois' sea snake and the reef shallows sea snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. Its geographic range includes Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the northern, eastern and western coastal areas of Australia, that is the Coral Sea, Arafura Sea, Timor Sea and Indian Ocean. It lives at depths up to 80 meters in coral reef flats, sandy and silty sediments which contain seaweed, invertebrates and corals or sponges that can serve as shelter. It preys upon moray eels and various fish that live on the seafloor, up to 110 cm in size. A. duboisii is viviparous, giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs. It displays medium aggressiveness, i.e., will bite if provoked, but not spontaneously. The fangs are 1.8 mm long, which are relatively short for a snake, and the venom yield is 0.43 mg. Aipysurus duboisii is a crepuscular species, meaning that it is most active at dawn and dusk.
The yellow-bellied sea snake is a venomous species of snake from the subfamily Hydrophiinae found in tropical oceanic waters around the world except for the Atlantic Ocean. For many years, it was placed in the monotypic genus Pelamis, but recent molecular evidence indicates it lies within the genus Hydrophis.
Emydocephalus is a genus of sea snakes, also known as turtle-headed sea snakes, in the family Elapidae. The genus is one of a small group of the viviparous sea snakes with Aipysurus. Unlike most sea snakes, the species that make up Emydocephalus lack teeth on their dentary and palatine bones. They also lack venom, making them the only non-venomous elapids. The dentary and palantine bones bear only a row of papillae. Emydocephalus does, however, bear fangs and many small pterygoid teeth. This reduced dentition is due to their diet consisting almost entirely of fish eggs. Due to their prey being small and immobile, they exhibit a foraging strategy different than most snakes, where they forage more frequently but consume smaller quantities.
Hydrophis zweifeli is a species of snakes found from New Guinea to Australia. In the past they were thought to be Hydrophis schistosus, but after DNA testing are now provisionally identified as Hydrophis zweifeli. DNA test have shown they are not related to Hydrophis schistosus.
Hydrelaps is a monotypic genus of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae. The genus contains the sole species Hydrelaps darwiniensis, also commonly known as the black-ringed mangrove snake, the black-ringed sea snake, Darwin's sea snake, and the Port Darwin sea snake. The species is native to Australia and New Guinea.
Aipysurus fuscus, commonly known as the dusky sea snake or Timor Reef snake, is a species of sea snake in the family Elapidae. It is found in the Timor Sea between Australia, Indonesia and East Timor and has been classified as endangered.
The slender-necked sea snake, also known commonly as Cogger's sea snake, is a species of marine venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species is native to waters around western Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean.
The Elapoidea are a superfamily of snakes in the clade Colubroides, traditionally comprising the families Lamprophiidae and Elapidae. Advanced genomic sequence studies, however, have found lamprophiids to be paraphyletic in respect to elapids, and anywhere between four and nine families are now recognized.
Aipysurus mosaicus is a species of snake found in coastal seas of Australia. It is commonly known as the mosaic sea snake.
Toxicocalamus loriae, also known commonly as the Loria forest snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to New Guinea and occurs in both Western New Guinea (Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea.
Hydrophis czeblukovi, also known commonly as the fine-spined sea snake, the geometrical sea snake, and the geometrical seasnake, is species of venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species is native to waters off northern Australia.