Hydrophis peronii

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Hydrophis peronii
Acalyptus superciliosus.jpg
By Ferdinando Sordelli in Jan & Sordelli, 1860
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Hydrophis
Species:
H. peronii
Binomial name
Hydrophis peronii
Synonyms
  • Acalyptus Peronii
    A.M.C. Duméril, 1853
  • Acalyptus superciliosus vel Peroni
    A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron, & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
  • Acalyptus superciliosus
    Fischer, 1856
  • Acalyptophis peronii
    Boulenger, 1896
  • Pseudodisteira horrida
    Kinghorn, 1926
  • Hydrophis peronii
    Sanders et al., 2012 [3]

Hydrophis peronii, commonly known as the horned sea snake, Peron's sea snake, and the spiny-headed seasnake, [1] is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to the western tropical Pacific Ocean. [4] It is the only sea snake with spines on the head. [3] It is sometimes placed in its own genus Acalyptophis.

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, peronii, is in honor of François Péron, a French naturalist and explorer. [5]

Description

The spiny-headed seasnake is a medium-size snake, with the diameter of the neck only one third to two fifths the diameter of the thickest part of the body. [4] The head is small and the tail flattened laterally. The supraoculars are raised, and their free borders are pointed. [4] This species reaches a snout-vent length (SVL) of up to 1.23 m (4.0 ft). [6] Dorsally, it is grayish, pale olive, or tan, with dark crossbands, which are narrower than the spaces between them and taper to a point on the sides of the belly. Ventrally, it is uniform whitish or with a series of dark crossbars alternating with spots. [4]

Geographic range

H. peronii is found in the Gulf of Siam, Thailand, [7] Vietnam, the South China Sea, the coast of Guangdong and Strait of Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Coral Sea Islands, Papua New Guinea, [8] and Australia, (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, & possibly New South Wales). [6]

Habitat

The preferred habitats of H. peronii are seas with sandy beds and coral reefs.

Diet

The diet of H. peronii includes small fish. [6]

Reproduction

H. peronii is a viviparous species that produces up to 10 live young per female. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 Lukoschek, V.; Rasmussen, A.R.; Sanders, K.; Lobo, A.S.; Courtney, T. (2010). "Hydrophis peronii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T176756A7298218. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176756A7298218.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. "Acalyptophis peronii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  3. 1 2 Hydrophis peronii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  4. 1 2 3 4 Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Acalyptophis peronii, pp. 269-270).
  5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Acalyptophis peronii, p. 203).
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Acalyptophis peronii — Horned Seasnake". Species Profile and Threats Database. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberrra. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  7. Cox MJ (1991). The Snakes of Thailand and their Husbandry. Malabar, Florida: Krieger. 564 pp. ISBN   978-0894644375.
  8. Brongersma LD (1956). "Notes on New Guinean reptiles and amphibians V ". Proceedings Nederlandse Akademe Wetenschappen59C: 599-610.

Further reading