Sea krait

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Sea krait
Laticauda colubrina Lembeh2.jpg
Laticauda colubrina
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Laticaudinae
Cope, 1876
Genus: Laticauda
Laurenti, 1768
Type species
Laticauda laticaudata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Species

Eight, see text

Sea kraits are a genus of venomous snakes (subfamily: Laticaudinae), Laticauda. They are semiaquatic, and retain the wide ventral scales typical of terrestrial snakes for moving on land, but also have paddle-shaped tails for swimming. [1] Unlike fully aquatic ovoviviparous sea snakes, sea kraits are oviparous and must come to land to digest prey and lay eggs. [2] They also have independent evolutionary origins into aquatic habitats, with sea kraits diverging earlier from other Australasian elapids. [3] [4] Thus, sea kraits and sea snakes are an example of convergent evolution into aquatic habitats within the Hydrophiinae snakes. Sea kraits are also often confused with land kraits (genus Bungarus), which are not aquatic.

Contents

Description

Sea kraits are semiaquatic, so have morphological adaptations to both land and sea. Laticauda species show traits intermediate between those of sea snakes and terrestrial elapids. They have a vertically flattened and paddle-shaped tail (similar to sea snakes) and laterally positioned nostrils and broad, laterally expanded ventral scales (similar to terrestrial elapids). [1] [5] [6] Their body has a striped pattern, nasal scales are separated by inter-nasals scales, and the maxillary bone extends forwards beyond the palatine bone. [2] Members of Laticauda can grow to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long. [7]

Distribution

Laticauda species are found throughout the South and Southeast Asian islands spreading from India in the west, north as far as Japan, and southeast to Fiji. They occasionally wander south to the Eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand ( Laticauda colubrina being the most common example in New Zealand), however no known locally breeding populations are known to exist in these areas. [8] Sea kraits typically live in the littoral zone of coastal waters and are semi-terrestrial, spending time ashore and in shallow waters, as well as around coral reefs. [8] [9]

Diet

Laticauda species feed in the ocean, mostly eating moray and conger eels, and some squid, crabs, and fish. They have never been observed feeding on land.

Behavior

Laticauda species are often active at night, which is when they prefer to hunt. Though they possess highly toxic venom, these snakes are usually shy and reclusive, and in New Caledonia, where they are called tricot rayé ("striped sweater"), children play with them. Bites are rare, but must be treated immediately. Bites are more likely to occur under low light conditions (night), and when the snake is roughly handled (e.g. grabbed "hard") while in the water, or having been abruptly taken from the water. When these snakes are on land, bites are extremely rare. [10] Black-banded sea kraits, numbering in the hundreds, form hunting alliances with yellow goatfish and bluefin trevally, flushing potential prey from narrow crannies in a reef the same way some moray eels do. [11] [12] Sea kraits are capable of diving up to 80 m deep in a single hunting trip. [13] They also have a very large hunting range, with at least 615 and perhaps up to 1660 km2 surface area for the Blue-lipped sea krait; 1380 and potentially up to 4500 km2 for the New Caledonian sea krait. [14] They have a remarkable ability to climb up vertical rocks of their coastal limestone habitats. [1]

Breeding

Laticauda females are oviparous, and they return to land to mate and lay eggs. [8] Several males form a mating ball around the female, twitching their bodies in what is termed "caudocephalic waves". Though these animals can occur in high densities in suitable locations, nests of eggs are very rarely encountered, suggesting specific nesting conditions need to be met.

Species and taxonomy

Eight species are currently recognised as being valid. [15] [16]

The species L. schistorhyncha and L. semifasciata have been placed in the genus Pseudolaticauda by some authors. [18]

Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Laticauda.

Parasites

Sea snakes can have parasitic ticks, occasionally with heavy infestations. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elapidae</span> Family of venomous snakes

Elapidae is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydocephalus. Many members of this family exhibit a threat display of rearing upwards while spreading out a neck flap. Elapids are endemic to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, with terrestrial forms in Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas and marine forms in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Members of the family have a wide range of sizes, from the 18 cm (7.1 in) white-lipped snake to the 5.85 m king cobra. Most species have neurotoxic venom that is channeled by their hollow fangs, and some may contain other toxic components in various proportions. The family includes 55 genera with around 360 species and over 170 subspecies.

<i>Acrochordus granulatus</i> Species of snake

Acrochordus granulatus is a snake species found from India through Southeast Asia to the Solomon Islands. It is known as the little file snake, marine file snake, and little wart snake. It is completely aquatic and almost helpless on land. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Hydrophis curtus</i> Species of snake

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-lipped sea krait</span> Species of reptile

The yellow-lipped sea krait, also known as the banded sea krait or colubrine sea krait, is a species of venomous snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific oceanic waters. The snake has distinctive black stripes and a yellow snout, with a paddle-like tail for use in swimming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-lipped sea krait</span> Species of snake

The blue-lipped sea krait, also known as the blue-banded sea krait or common sea krait, is a species of venomous sea snake in the subfamily Laticaudinae of the family Elapidae. It is found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea snake</span> Subfamily of reptiles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventral scales</span> Enlarged scales along the belly of snakes

In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that contacts the paraventral (lowermost) row of dorsal scales on either side. The anal scale is not counted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katuali</span> Species of snake

The katuali or flat-tail sea snake is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae. The species is found only in the waters of the Pacific Islands nation of Niue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Many-banded krait</span> A venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia

The many-banded krait, also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is a highly venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia. The species was first described by the scientist Edward Blyth in 1861. Averaging 1 to 1.5 m in length, it is a black or bluish-black snake with many white bands across its body. The many-banded krait mostly inhabits marshy areas throughout its geographical distribution, though it does occur in other habitat types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-banded sea krait</span> Species of snake

The black-banded sea krait, also known commonly as the Chinese sea snake, is a largely amphibious species of venomous marine reptile in the subfamily Laticaudinae, family Elapidae. It is found in much of the western Pacific Ocean and some of the Sea of Japan. In Japan, it is known as erabu umi hebi ; in Okinawa, it is known simply as irabu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocker's sea snake</span> Species of snake

Crocker's sea snake is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Laticaudinae of the family Elapidae. The species is native to Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reptiles of New Zealand</span>

The extant (living) reptiles of New Zealand consist of numerous species of terrestrial lizards and the lizard-like tuatara, and several species of sea turtles and sea snakes. All but one species are native to New Zealand, and all but one of the terrestrial species are endemic to New Zealand, that is, they are not found in any other country. Many species of foreign reptiles enter New Zealand through accidental importation or smuggling, but only the Australian native Lampropholis delicata has become established in the wild, and it is considered an invasive pest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-bellied sea snake</span> Species of snake

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Caledonian sea krait</span> Species of snake

The New Caledonian sea krait is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Laticaudinae of the family Elapidae. The species is native to the waters around New Caledonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir Kharin (zoologist)</span>

Vladimir Yemelyanovich Kharin (1957–2013) was a Russian zoologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and a specialist in sea snakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slender-necked sea snake</span> Species of snake

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elapoidea</span> Superfamily of snakes

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.

Laticauda guineai is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae. The species, which was first described by Heatwole, Busack and Cogger in 2005, is native to waters off southern New Guinea.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wilson, Stephen K.; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. Chatswood, New South Wales: New Holland Publishers. p. 564.
  2. 1 2 Cogger, Hal (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Sydney, NSW: Reed New Holland. p. 722.
  3. ↑ Pyron, R. Alexander; Burbrink, Frank T.; Colli, Guarino R.; de Oca, Adrian Nieto Montes; Vitt, Laurie J.; Kuczynski, Caitlin A.; Wiens, John J. (2011-02-01). "The phylogeny of advanced snakes (Colubroidea), with discovery of a new subfamily and comparison of support methods for likelihood trees". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 58 (2): 329–342. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.11.006. ISSN   1095-9513. PMID   21074626.
  4. ↑ Keogh, J. Scott (1998-02-01). "Molecular phylogeny of elapid snakes and a consideration of their biogeographic history". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 63 (2): 177–203. doi: 10.1006/bijl.1997.0178 .
  5. ↑ Shine, R.; Shetty, S. (2001-03-01). "Moving in two worlds: aquatic and terrestrial locomotion in sea snakes (Laticauda colubrina, Laticaudidae)". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 14 (2): 338–346. doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.2001.00265.x. ISSN   1420-9101. S2CID   82676695.
  6. ↑ Brischoux, François; Kato, Akiko; Ropert-Coudert, Yan; Shine, Richard (2010-10-30). "Swimming speed variation in amphibious seasnakes (Laticaudinae): A search for underlying mechanisms". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 394 (1–2): 116–122. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2010.08.001.
  7. ↑ Shine, Richard; Shetty, Sohan (2002). "Activity Patterns of Yellow-Lipped Sea Kraits (Laticauda colubrina) on a Fijian Island". Copeia2002 (1): 77-85.
  8. 1 2 3 Gill, B.J.; Whitaker, A.H. (2014). "Records of sea-kraits (Serpentes: Laticaudidae: Laticauda) in New Zealand". Records of the Auckland Museum . 49: 39–42. ISSN   1174-9202. JSTOR   43264621. Wikidata   Q58629017.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Don E.; Burnie, David, eds. (2005) [2001]. Animal . London & New York: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN   978-0-7894-7764-4.
  10. ↑ "La Lettre de la Délégation n°202". Notes du Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (UPR1934 CNRS) (CNRS DR15) (in French). 202. 2016-03-29. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  11. ↑ "Black-banded sea krait photo - Laticauda semifasciata - G78940". Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  12. ↑ "BBC Earth - Programmes - Planet Earth". Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  13. ↑ Motani, Ryosuke (19 May 2009). "The Evolution of Marine Reptiles". Evo Edu Outreach. 2 (2): 224–235. doi: 10.1007/s12052-009-0139-y .
  14. ↑ Brischoux, François; Bonnet, Xavier; Shine, Richard (2007-11-22). "Foraging ecology of sea kraits Laticauda spp. in the Neo-Caledonian Lagoon". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 350: 145–151. doi:10.3354/meps07133. ISSN   0171-8630.
  15. ↑ Heatwole H, Busack S, Cogger H (2005). "Geographic variation in sea kraits of the Laticauda colubrina complex (Serpentes: Elapidae: Hydrophiinae: Laticaudini)". Herpetological Monographs19: 1-136.
  16. ↑ Cogger HG, Heatwole HF (2006). "Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905) and Laticauda saintgironsi n.sp. from Vanuato and New Caledonia (Serpentes: Elapidae: Laticaudinae) – a new lineage of sea kraits?" Records of the Australian Museum58: 245-256.
  17. ↑ 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. (Laticauda guineai, p. 112).
  18. ↑ Kharin VE, Czeblukov VP (2006). "A new revision of the sea kraits of family Laticaudidae Cope, 1879 (Serpentes: Colubroidea)". Russian Journal of Herpetology13: 227-241.
  19. ↑ "Sea snake parasites – 1". Tropical Research and Conservation Centre. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2017.

Further reading

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