| Aipysurus mosaicus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Aipysurus |
| Species: | A. mosaicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Aipysurus mosaicus | |
Aipysurus mosaicus is a species of snake found in coastal seas of Australia. It is commonly known as the mosaic sea snake.
Aipysurus mosaicus Sanders, Rasmussen, Elmberg, Mumpuni, Guinea, Blias, Lee & Fry was first described in 2012. The population had previously been identified as a geographically isolated group of Aipysurus eydouxii , found near New Guinea and the Sunda shelf, but comparison of internal and external characters and examination of molecular evidence showed significant divergence in the phylogeny and supported the separation to a new species. [2] Type specimen was collected near Weipa in the Gulf of Carpentaria. [3]
An oceanic egg-eating snake of the elapid family, venomous predators found in seas and at terrestrial habitat. [2]
The distribution range of the species extends across coastal waters of northern Australia and New Guinea. [3]
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 curtus, also known as Shaw's Sea Snake, short sea snake, but often includes Hydrophis hardwickii is a species of sea snake. Like most Hydrophiinae sea snakes, it is a viviparous, fully marine, and front fanged elapid that is highly venomous. It is collected for a variety of purposes including human and animal food, for medicinal purposes and for their skin.
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.
Kate Laura Sanders is a researcher at the University of Adelaide, specialising in the study of sea snakes. She received a PhD from Bangor University in 2003 and was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2013-2017). Sanders has undertaken field work that has resulted in the identification of new species, including the sea snake Aipysurus mosaicus.
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.
Aipysurus 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 forest cobra, also commonly called the black cobra and the black and white-lipped cobra, is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Africa, mostly the central and western parts of the continent. It is the largest true cobra species with a record length of 3.2 metres.
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.
Hydrophis donaldi, or the rough-scaled sea snake is a unique species of sea snake from Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria first described in 2012. It is a yellow to brown, striped snake that reaches up to a meter in length. It gives live birth and is venomous enough to be dangerous to humans. The primary distinguishing trait of the rough-scaled sea snake is the presence of a single spine on every scale covering the snake's body. The snake's tough, spiny scales may protect it from being buffeted against the rocks of its stony estuary habitats by the action of the waves and currents. Other less spectacular traits distinguishing it from other members of the genus Hydrophis include the lack of a groove running through the scales underlying its abdomen, a larger and rounder skull, differing numbers of scales around the circumference of different bodily regions, and a larger number of stripes than many sea snakes have.
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.
Aipysurus foliosquama, also known as the leaf-scaled sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae. It was formerly endemic to the Ashmore and Cartier Islands of Australia, having thought to have become extinct there. In 2015, the snake was discovered in seagrass beds of Shark Bay off Western Australia.
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.
Aipysurus apraefrontalis, commonly known as the short-nosed sea snake or Sahul reef snake, is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae, which occurs on reefs off the northern coast of Western Australia. English herpetologist Malcolm Arthur Smith described the species in 1926 from a specimen collected on the Ashmore Reef.
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.
Egg predation or ovivory is a feeding strategy in many groups of animals (ovivores) in which they consume eggs. Since a fertilized egg represents a complete organism at one stage of its life cycle, eating an egg is a form of predation, the killing of another organism for food.
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.
Emydocephalus orarius, also known as the white-crowned sea snake or white-naped sea snake, is a species of elapid sea snake endemic to Australian waters. The specific epithet orarius (“coastal”) refers to its known habitat.
Aipysurus tenuis, also known as the Arafura sea snake, Mjoberg's sea snake or brown-lined sea snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae that is native to Australia. The specific epithet tenuis ("slender") refers to the snake's appearance.
