Spine-bellied sea snake

Etymology

Description

• Body short, stout, neck region not less than half as thick at midbody;
• head large; scales squarish or hexagonal, juxtaposed, outer 3-4 rows larger than others, scale rows: males 23-31 around neck, females 27-35, around midbody, males 25-27, females 33-41;
• ventrals small, usually distinct anteriorly, not so posteriorly, in males 114-186, in females 141-230; head shields entire, parietals occasionally divided;
• nostrils superior, nasals in contact with one another;
• prefrontal usually in contact with second upper labial;
• 7-8 upper labials, 3-4 bordering eye; 1 pre- and 1-2 postoculars; 2, rarely 3, anterior temporals; greenish or yellow- olive above, whitish below, 35-50 olive to dark gray dorsal bars, tapering to a point laterally, occasionally encircling body, a narrow dark ventral stripe or broad irregular band occasionally present;
• adults often lack any pattern and are uniform olive to dark gray;
• head pale olive to black, yellow markings on snout present or not. Total length 860 mm, tail length 85 mm.

  Geographic range

• Persian Gulf
• Indian Ocean
• South China Sea north to the coasts of Fujian and Shandong
• Strait of Taiwan
• Indoaustralian Archipelago
• North coast of Australia
• the Philippines
• Pacific Ocean