Kingdom Animalia Suborder Serpentes Subfamily Hydrophiinae Phylum Chordata Rank Genus | Subphylum Vertebrata Family Elapidae Scientific name Laticauda Higher classification Coral reef snakes Order Scaled reptiles | |
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Lower classifications Laticauda colubrina, Black‑banded sea krait, Laticauda laticaudata, Crocker's sea snake | ||
Sea snake eating moray eel fiji laticauda colubrina vs gymnothorax sp
Laticauda or sea kraits are a genus of venomous elapid snakes from the family Hydrophiinae. They are semi-aquatic, they retain the wide ventral scales typical of terrestrial snakes for moving on land but also have paddle-shaped tails for swimming. Sea kraits are often confused with another group of aquatic reptiles: sea snakes. However, unlike the fully aquatic ovoviviparous sea snakes, sea kraits are oviparous and must come to land to digest prey and lay eggs. They also have independent evolutionary origins into aquatic habitats, with sea kraits diverging earlier from other Australasian elapids. Thus, sea kraits and sea snakes are an example of convergent evolution into aquatic habitats within Hydrophiinae snakes.
Contents
- Sea snake eating moray eel fiji laticauda colubrina vs gymnothorax sp
- Sea snake laticauda attack scuba diver
- Description
- Location
- Diet
- Behavior
- Breeding
- Species and taxonomy
- Parasites
- References
Sea snake laticauda attack scuba diver
Description
Sea kraits are semi-aquatic and 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 terrestrial elapids). Their body has a striped pattern, nasal scales are separated by inter-nasals scales, and the maxillary bone extends forwards beyond the palatine bone. Members of Laticauda can grow to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long.
Location
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 are mostly found in coastal waters.
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, Laticauda snakes are usually shy and reclusive, and in New Caledonia, where they are called tricot rayé ("stripey sweater"), children play with them. Bites are extremely rare, but must be treated immediately. 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. Sea kraits are capable of diving up to 80 meters in a single hunting trip. Sea kraits have a remarkable ability to climb up vertical rocks of their coastal limestone habitats.
Breeding
Laticauda females are oviparous, and they return to land to mate and lay eggs. Several males will 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,
The species L. schistorhynchus and L. semifasciata have been placed in the genus Pseudolaticauda by some authors.
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Laticauda.
Parasites
Sea snakes have thick parasites with occasionally heavy infections .