Ventrals large, one third to more than one half the width of the body; nostrils lateral; nasals separated by internasals; 19 longitudinal rows of imbricate scales at midbody; no azygous (=single, unpaired) prefrontal shield; rostrals undivided; ventrals 225-243; subcaudals: males 38-47, females 30-35. Upper lip dark brown. Total length: males 910 mm, females 1070 mm. Tail length: males 110 mm, females 110 mm. (Leviton et al. 2003)
Kharin and Czeblukov (2006) recognized three species of Laticauda: L. laticaudata, L. colubrina (treated as four distinct species by Heatwole et al. 2005), and L. crockeri (Kharin and Czeblukov include L. semifasciata and L. schistorhynchus in a distinct genus, Pseudolaticauda, a treatment that remains controversial). These snakes are dangerously venomous. Kharin and Czeblukov give the distribution of L. laticaudata as including theBay of Bengal, East India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Andaman Islands, Thailand, the coast of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Indonesia, the coasts of China and Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, New Guinea, Australia, Polynesia, Melanesia, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and theFiji Islands. According to Leviton et al. 2003, around Myanmar, L. laticaudatais known from Rakhine State and is possibly not uncommon along the Myanmar coast and the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula (Leviton et al. also note that this species occurs from western Indonesia [Sumatra and Java] to Australia, Melanesia, and Polynesia and north along the coast of Asia to southern Japan). These snakes have been found near the mouth of a small freshwater stream along the Rakhine coast; the coast in this area has much exposed coral reef and mangrove forest. In Taiwan, these snakes are reportedly often found near fresh water. They are active both day and night. (Leviton et al. 2003 and references therein)
Common sea krait
Blue-lipped sea krait
Eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to the Solomon Islands; Australia (tropical northeastern coast). Borneo (Sabah: Si Amil Islands). Sri Lanka, Melanesia, north to Japan.
Types: A NHRM specimen, one of two extant syntypes, according to Andersson, 1899, K. Svenska Vet. Akad. Handl. afd. 24:1-35[18].
Type-locality: Indiis.
The blue-lipped sea krait (Laticauda laticaudata), 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.[2]
The blue-lipped sea krait was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name Coluber laticaudatus.[3] There are two subspecies, Laticauda laticaudata laticaudata and Laticauda laticaudata affinis.[2]
Ventral scales of this snake are large, one-third to more than one-half the width of the body; the nostrils are lateral; nasal scales are separated by internasals; 19 longitudinal rows of imbricate scales are found at midbody; no azygous prefrontal shield is present; rostral scales are undivided; ventrals number 225–243; subcaudals number 38–47 in males, females have 30–35 (ventral and subcaudal counts after Smith 1943:443). The upper lip is dark brown. Total length varies with sex: males are 910 mm (36 in), females are 1,070 mm (42 in); tail lengths are similar: 110 mm (4.3 in).[2] The 19 rows of scales and the dark brown upper lip can be used to differentiate the blue-lipped sea krait from other Laticauda species.[4]
This species is found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans: Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh, East India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand), coasts of Malay Peninsula to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, New Guinea, the Philippines, off the coasts of Fujian and Taiwan, Japan, Polynesia, Melanesia, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Australia (Queensland).[2] [1] One specimen was found in Devonport, New Zealand in 2011, however it died shortly after being taken to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium.[4] The blue-lipped sea snake is spread all over the west pacific, making it known as the common sea krait, however taxonomic studies might indicate they might be an endemic species.[5]
This snake is known to warm up in wedge-tailed shearwater burrows.[6]
The blue-lipped sea krait (Laticauda laticaudata), 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.
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