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Sea SnakesYellow-bellied Sea Snake
Yellow-bellied Sea Snake
Common Name: Yellow-bellied Sea Snake
Scientific Name: Pelamis platurus
The
Pelagic sea snake (or yellow-bellied sea snake),
Pelamis platurus: This snake has a prominent paddle-like
tail. The Pelagic sea snake's coloration
normally includes a black background color contrasting strongly
with a yellow belly and pale yellow lateral stripe along the
body which frequently breaks into an undulating array of black
and yellow blotches on the posterior body and tail.
This
snake spends much of its time floating in open ocean
waters along the edges of the continental shelves
of large land masses. It is venomous, although not nearly
as toxic as many other sea snakes. Fatalities are rare even
among fishermen who, bare-handed, regularly remove these snakes
from their nets. It is rarely seen in the Central Pacific
but is always a possibility as an ocean vagrant dispersed
as a result of unusual currents and storms. It is a member
of the largest sea snake family, Hydrophiidae,
and hence bears its young alive without leaving the ocean.
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