Laticauda colubrina

The colubrine sea krait, banded sea krait or yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina) is a species of venomous sea snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific oceanic waters.

Description

Ventrals are large, one-third to more than half the width of the body; nostrils are lateral; nasals are separated by internasals; 21-25 longitudinal rows of imbricate scales are found at midbody; an azygous prefrontal shield is usually present; and the rostral is undivided.

The body is subcylindrical, only slightly compressed. The rostral is higher than broad; an azygous shield separates the prefrontals, but sometimes is absent; the frontal is considerably longer than its distance from the end of the snout; one preocular and two postoculars are present; with 7–8 supralabials, the 3rd–4th touch the eye temporals 1+2 ; five infralabials are in contact with the genials, both pairs of which are usually well developed and in contact with one another, the anterior pair is smaller than the posterior; a double series of elongated scales, the inner series the larger, occur at the oral margin. Scales are in 21–23 rows (rarely 25). Ventrals number 213 to 245, and are about four times as long as broad. Subcaudals in males number 37–47, and in females 29–35.

Laticauda

Laticauda is a genus of snakes from the subfamily Hydrophiinae. Laticauda species are the least adapted to sea life of all the members of Hydrophiinae; they retain the wide ventral scales typical of terrestrial snakes and have poorly developed tail fins. They are adapted to living on land and in shallow seas. These animals are also commonly known as sea kraits.

Size

Members of the genus 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 to of diving up to 80 meters in a single hunting trip.