Striped sea snake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hydrophis fasciatus |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Hydrophis
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| Species: |
fasciatus
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| Synonyms | |
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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).
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).
