Order: Squamata
Family: Elapidae
Size: up to 275 cm in length.
Key Features: It has a striking yellow or yellowish-green body, boldly marked with 30 to 60 narrow, black rings. The head is also yellow in adults, but in young individuals it is blackish with a distinctive yellow, horseshoe-shaped mark on the top. The jaws bear small, fixed, tubular fangs, which are used to administer powerful venom. Like most sea snakes, the tail of this species is flattened and paddle-like, helping to propel the snake through the water. Other adaptations for living in water include nostrils placed on the top of the snout, so that breathing can take place without exposing the body to aerial predators. The nostrils are also valved, and close when this species is submerged.
Breeding: Sea snakes typically give birth to a small number of fully-developed live young.
Diet: feeds on fish such as eels.
Habitat: inhabits warm, shallow, near-shore waters, occurring over reefs, seagrass or sand, and sometimes also in estuaries.
Habits: Prey is caught by means of a swift bite, which administers the fast-acting venom, thereby killing the victim and also breaking down its tissues to aid digestion.
Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.
References:
Heatwole, H. (1999) Sea Snakes: Australian Natural History Series. UNSW Press, Sydney.
Hellyer, P. and Aspinall, S. (2005) The Emirates: A Natural History. Trident Press Limited, United Arab Emirates.
Levitón, A.E., Wogan, G.O.U., Koo, M.S., Zug, G.R., Lucas, R.S. and Vindum, J.V. (2003) The dangerously venomous snakes of Myanmar: Illustrated checklist with keys. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 54: 407-462.
Halliday, T. and Adler, K. (2002) The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Tomascik, T. (1997) The Ecology of the Indonesian Seas, Part 2. Tuttle Publishing, North Clarendon.