Hydrophis


Hydrophis is a genus of sea snakes. They are typically found in Indo-Australian and Southeast Asian waters. Currently, around 36 species are recognized.

Systematics and classification

There are more than 30 recognized species in the genus.
SpeciesAuthoritySubsp.*Common nameGeographic range
H. annandalei0bighead sea snake, Annandale's sea snakeIndian Ocean
H. anomalusSchmidt, 18520anomalous sea snakeSouth Chinese Sea, Indian Ocean
H. atricepsGünther, 18640black-headed sea snake
H. belcheri0Belcher's sea snakeQueensland and New Territories, Australia
H. bituberculatusW. Peters, 18730Peters' Sea SnakeIndian Ocean
H. brookiiGünther, 18720Brooke's sea snake
H. caerulescens0dwarf sea snakeQueensland, Australia
H. cantorisGünther, 18640Cantor's narrow-headed sea snake, Cantor's small-headed sea snake
H. coggeri0slender-necked sea snake, Cogger's sea snakeWestern Australia
H. curtus0Shaw's sea snake, Short sea snake, Hardwicke's sea snake, spine-bellied sea snake
H. cyanocinctusDaudin, 18030annulated sea snake, blue-banded sea snake
H. czeblukovi0fine-spined sea snake
H. donaldiUkuwela, K. Sanders
& B. Fry, 2012		rough-scaled sea snakeNorthern Australia
H. elegans0elegant sea snake
H. fasciatus0striped sea snake
H. gracilis0common small-headed sea snake, graceful small-headed sea snake, narrow-headed sea snake, slender sea snake
H. hardwickii0Hardwicke's spine-bellied sea snake
H. inornatus0plain sea snakeWestern Australia
H. jerdonii0Jerdon's sea snakeIndian Ocean
H. kingiiBoulenger, 18960King's sea snake
H. klossiBoulenger, 19120Kloss' sea snake
H. labouteiA. Rasmussen & Ineich, 20000Laboute's sea snakeNew Caledonia
H. lambertiM.A. Smith, 19170Lambert's sea snake
H. lapemoides0Persian Gulf sea snake
H. macdowelliKharin, 19830small-headed sea snake, McDowell's sea snakeWestern Australia
H. major0greater sea snake, olive-headed sea snake
H. mamillaris0Bombay sea snake
H. melanocephalusGray, 18490sea snake
H. melanosomaGünther, 18640black-banded robust sea snake
H. nigrocinctusDaudin, 18030black-banded sea snake
H. obscurusDaudin, 18030estuarine sea snake, Russel's sea snake
H. ocellatus0spotted sea snake
H. ornatus0sea snake
H. pacificusBoulenger, 18960large-headed sea snake
H. parvicepsM.A. Smith, 19350Smith's small-headed sea snake
H. peronii0Peron's sea snake
H. platurusLinnaeus, 17660yellow-bellied sea snake
H. semperiGarman, 18810Semper's sea snakeLake Taal, Philippines
H. sibauensisA. Rasmussen, Auliya
& :de:Wolfgang Böhme |W. Böhme, 2001		0Kalimantan sea snake
H. spiralis0yellow sea snake
H. stokesii0Stokes' sea snake, Stokes's sea snake
H. stricticollisGünther, 18640collared sea snake
H. torquatusGünther, 18642west coast black-headed sea snake
H. vorisiKharin, 19840Estuarine sea snakeTorres Strait, Queensland
H. walli0Wall's sea snake

*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Hydrophis.