Northern mangrove seasnake

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Northern mangrove seasnake
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Parahydrophis
Species:
P. mertoni
Binomial name
Parahydrophis mertoni
(Roux, 1910)
Synonyms [2]
  • Distira mertoni
    Roux, 1910
  • Hydrophis mertoni
    de Rooij, 1917
  • Parahydrophis mertoni
    Burger & Natsuno, 1974

The northern mangrove seasnake (Parahydrophis mertoni), also known commonly as the Arafura smooth seasnake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia and New Guinea.

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, mertoni, is in honor of German zoologist Hugo Merton. [3]

Geographic range

Parahydrophis mertoni is found in Northern Australia [4] in Northern Territory and Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea in the Arafura Sea. [2]

Description

Parahydrophis mertoni is blackish-olive with about 46 yellow rings on the body and ten on the tail. The head shields are spotted with yellow, except for the rostral and labials which are black. [5]

Reproduction

Parahydrophis mertoni is viviparous. [2]

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References

  1. Guinea M, Lukoschek V, Milton D, Courtney T (2010). "Parahydrophis mertoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T176772A7301678. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176772A7301678.en . Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Species Parahydrophis mertoni at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 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. (Parahtdrophis mertoni, p. 177).
  4. Australian Biological Resources Study (26 August 2013). "Species Parahydrophis mertoni (Roux, 1910)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  5. de Rooij N (1917). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. II. Ophidia. Leiden: E.J. Brill. xiv + 334 pp., 117 Figures. (Hydrophis mertoni, new combination, p. 233).

Further reading