Hydrophis fasciatus
| Hydrophis fasciatus | |
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| Species: | H. fasciatus
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| Hydrophis fasciatus (Schneider, 1799)
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Hydrophis fasciatus, commonly known as the striped sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae (Hydrophiinae).[1]
Description
Hydrophis fasciatus has a small head, long body and is slender anteriorly. The scales on thickest part of body are subquadrangular or hexagonal in shape, juxtaposed or slightly imbricate. It has 5-6 maxillary (upper jaw bone) teeth behind fangs and 2 anterior temporals.
Body scales in 28-33 rows around the neck, 47-58 around midbody (increase in number of rows from neck to midbody 20-27); ventral scales 414-514 (average 460).
Anterior part of body including head and neck dark olive to black with pale oval yellowish spots on sides, sometimes connected as crossbars; posterior, grayish; below whitish; dark rhomboidal spots may extend down the sides of the body and form complete annuli in young.
Total length males 1100 mm, females 990 mm; tail length males 100 mm, females 75 mm.
Distribution
- Indian Ocean (coasts of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia).
- Coasts of Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Borneo).
- Coasts of Australia, Philippines, New Guinea.
- Coasts of Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian (China).
References
- ^ a b "Hydrophis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
- ^ Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. pp. 281-282.
- ^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
- Bergman, R. A. M. 1962 The anatomy of Hydrophis fasciatus atriceps. Biol. Jaarb. 30: 389-416
- Schneider, J.G. 1799. Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae Fasciculus Primus continens Ranas, Calamitas, Bufones, Salamandras et Hydros in genera et species descriptos notisque suis distinctos. Jena. 266 pp. (Hydrus fasciatus, pp. 233–238, 240-241.).
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(tm)(http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/176744/0).
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