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Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia, a grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates and rhynchocephalians (tuatara). As of March 2022, the Reptile Database includes about 11,700 species. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all amniotes more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology.
Squamata is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians, which are collectively known as squamates or scaled reptiles. With over 10,900 species, it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates, after the perciform fish. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making possible movement of the upper jaw relative to the neurocranium. This is particularly visible in snakes, which are able to open their mouths very wide to accommodate comparatively large prey. Squamata is the most variably sized order of reptiles, ranging from the 16 mm (0.63 in) dwarf gecko to the 6.5 m (21 ft) Reticulated python and the now-extinct mosasaurs, which reached lengths over 14 m (46 ft).
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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.
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Aipysurus duboisii, also known commonly as Dubois' sea snake and the reef shallows sea snake, is a species of highly 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.
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.
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.
Aipysurus apraefrontalis, commonly known as the short-nosed sea snake or Sahul reef snake, is a critically endangered 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.
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.
Aipysurus mosaicus is a species of snake found in coastal seas of Australia. It is commonly known as the mosaic sea snake.
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.
References
- 1 2 3 "Dr Kate Sanders". Researcher Profiles. The University of Adelaide.
- ↑ "Aipysurus mosaicus Sanders, Rasmussen, Elmberg, Mumpuni, Guinea, Blias, Lee & Fry, 2012". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
- ↑ "'Seeing' tails help sea snakes avoid predators". ScienceDaily.
- ↑ "Sea Snakes Have Been Modifying Genetically to See Underwater for 15 Million Years". SciTech Daily. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ↑ "Deep breath: this sea snake gathers oxygen through its forehead". The Conversation. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ↑ "These sea snakes can sense light using their tails". Earth.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ↑ Folwell, Megan; Sanders, Kate; Crowe-Riddell, Jenna (6 June 2022). "The Squamate Clitoris: A Review and Directions for Future Research". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 62 (3): 559–568. doi:10.1093/icb/icac056. ISSN 1540-7063. PMID 35662336.
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