The blue-lipped sea krait (Laticauda laticaudata), also known as the blue-banded sea krait or common sea krait, is a species of venomoussea snake in the subfamilyLaticaudinae of the family Elapidae. It is found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.[2]
L. laticaudata hunting in the coral reefs offshore in Ko Samui, Thailand.
Ventral scales of this snake are large, one-third to more than one-half the width of the body; the nostrils are lateral; nasal scales are separated by internasals; 19 longitudinal rows of imbricate scales are found at midbody; no azygous prefrontal shield is present; rostral scales are undivided; ventrals number 225–243; subcaudals number 38–47 in males, females have 30–35 (ventral and subcaudal counts after Smith 1943:443). The upper lip is dark brown. Total length varies with sex: males are 910 mm (36 in), females are 1,070 mm (42 in); tail lengths are similar: 110 mm (4.3 in).[2] The 19 rows of scales and the dark brown upper lip can be used to differentiate the blue-lipped sea krait from other Laticauda species.[4]
Kharin V. E. 1984 Revision of sea snakes of subfamily Laticaudinae Cope, 1879 sensu lato (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae). Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta 124: 128-139
^ a bLane, A.; Guinea, M.; Lobo, A.; Gatus, J. (2010). "Laticauda laticaudata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T176771A7301306. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176771A7301306.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
^ a b c dLaticauda laticaudata at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 8 January 2018.
^Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis (in Latin). Vol. I (10th revised ed.). Holmiae: (Laurentii Salvii). p. 222 – via The Internet Archive.
^Tyabji, Zoya; Mohanty, Nitya Prakash; Young, Erina; Khan, Tasneem (2018-10-26). "The terrestrial life of sea kraits: insights from a long-term study on two Laticauda species (Reptilia: Squamata: Elapidae) in the Andaman Islands, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 10 (11): 12443–12450. doi:10.11609/jott.4311.10.11.12443-12450. ISSN 0974-7907. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
^Brischoux, F.; Bonnet, X.; Shine, R. (2009). "Kleptothermy: an additional category of thermoregulation, and a possible example in sea kraits (Laticauda laticaudata, Serpentes)". Biology Letters. 5 (6): 729–731. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0550. PMC 2828009. PMID 19656862.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laticauda laticaudata.
Hans Breuer & William Christopher Murphy (2009–2010). "Laticauda laticaudata". Snakes of Taiwan. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012..
Photos of Blue-lipped sea krait on Sealife Collection