SEA SNAKES

TAXONOMIC
CLASSIFICATION
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Reptilia
ORDER: Squamata
FAMILY: Elapidae
SUBFAMILY: Hydrophiinae

Philippine Sea Snakes

Acalyptophis Astrotia stokesii Emydocephalus

Hydrophis Hydrophis belcheri Hydrophis

Hydrophis Hydrophis Hydrophis
cyanocinctus
Hydrophis Hydrophis Hydrophis gracilis
Laticauda colubrina Laticauda

\
 Laticauda
semifasciata

EVOLUTION
Snakes evolved from lizards in the late Jurassic Period around 135 million years ago.
most recently evolved group of reptiles
sea snakes have arisen from terrestrial snakes

DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE

Sea snakes are confined to the tropical oceans, chiefly the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. The
yellow-bellied sea snake, (Pelamis platurus), extends to the eastern Pacific. The olive sea snake, (Aipysurus
laevis), tends to live in reefs.

FEEDING AND NUTRITION

The Sea snakes favorite food is fish. Sea snakes prey on fish (including eels) and crustaceans. A couple of
species are specialized in eating fish eggs. Others are specialized in eating certain fish species.
The yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus) is pelagic and is seen on occasions floating in massive groups.

ADAPTATION
 In adaptation to marine life, true sea snakes have a flattened body with a short oarlike tail, valvular nostrils on
top of the snout, and elongated lungs that extend the entire length of the body.
Sea snakes can remain submerged for several hours, possibly as much as eight or more.
All elapid snakes have fixed front fangs and most have highly toxic venom. The less venomous species
originally evolved from venomous ancestors but have lost their toxic venom for one reason or another.

REPRODUCTION
Sea snakes are aggressive only during the mating season in the winter, the sea snake is very curious and they
become fascinated by elongated objects such as high pressure hoses.
Except for a single genus, all sea snakes are ovoviviparous
The young are born alive in the water where they live out their entire life cycle. In some species, the young
are quite large, sometimes up to half as long as their mother.
Mating and reproductive habits in snakes vary greatly depending on species and habitat. Although all snakes
breathe air, sea snakes are the only water-going snakes that mate in the water.

Sexual Maturity
The age of sexual maturity varies across all snake species. It depends largely on the size of the snake, its growth
rate and the quality of its environment. In sea snakes, sexual maturity happens slowly. Females typically reach
sexual maturity in their fourth or fifth year, males in their third.

No Seasonal Sex
Sea snakes live in tropical waters. The warm waters provide a suitable environment for mating at any point during
the year. Unlike many terrestrial snakes, there is no distinct mating season as the variance in temperature in the
typical sea snake environment is so small that it supports reproduction all year round.

Nudging the Female

Prior to the act of copulation, the male will swim after the female and will use his snout to nudge her on the head or
on the back of the neck. In cases where more than one male is present, the female will show preference toward her
chosen male, who will then attempt to copulate with her. If another male tries to challenge, aggression may occur.
Coming up for air
During copulation, the male will insert one of his two penises into the cloaca. Once the penis is inserted, the male is
stuck until mating is complete. It's now up to the female to decide when to come up for air. If the male fails to take
in air when the female surfaces, he will have to wait until the next time.

Long Gestation
The gestation period varies wildly, anywhere between 4 and 11 months, and is dependent on a number of factors,
including abundance of food, water temperature and the age and health of the female. All sea snakes apart from the
laticaudids give birth to live young. Once born, the young are on their own; the adults have no parental instincts at
all.

Determining the sex

Males will have a tail (the tail is considered the portion of the snake starting after the cloacal opening) that is thicker
and longer than their female counterparts and also tapers differently.
The female snakes have an overall thinner and shorter tail than a male has. It tapers evenly to the tip.

OSMOREGULATION
The lung, which can extend almost the entire length of the body, can also help with buoyancy to store air for
dives. Most sea snakes can also take in oxygen through their skin. A special gland under their tongue
concentrates and excretes excess salt water from their body.

CONSERVATION STATUS
Laticauda colubrina is not listed on any of the databases of endangered species indicating that the
conservation status of the species has not been documented and is unknown. However, because many
Laticauda species aggregate on land they are highly vulnerable to capture.

TREATS AND PREDATORS

Commercial harvesting, human-induced reduction of habitat in mangrove swamps, industrial pollution of coral
reefs and other coastal areas, and overfishing are all environmental hazards that negatively affect the
biodiversity and population size of many species of sea snakes.
Some researchers have proposed that rainfall and the availability of freshwater may be determining factors in
many populations of sea snake species including Laticauda colubrina. To maintain a proper water balance,
 they drink fresh water or very dilute brackish water in order to counteract the dehydration they experience on
land and in salt water. Therefore, the population dynamics of some species of Laticauda may be affected by
drought and global climate change.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE FOR HUMAN: Negative

Although banded sea kraits are venomous they are extremely reluctant to bite humans even when provoked.
They have been known to enter human residences and boats and some bites due to Laticauda colubrina have
been documented. However, these attacks are extremely rare and there have been no recorded human
fatalities due to this species.