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Sea SnakesYellow-lipped sea snake
Yellow-lipped sea snake
Common Name: Yellow-lipped sea snake
Scientific Name: Laticauda colubrina
This snake has a prominent paddle-like tail.
The conspicuous grayish-white body coloration with prominent
dark transverse bands or blotches is markedly different from
the coloration of the Pelagic sea snake.
This coloration could be confused with other
sea snakes (similar in appearance) resident
in the Australian and Southeast Asian regions, but it is less
likely to be encountered in the Central Pacific.
This snake is common in the Republic of Palau
and also infrequently encountered in Micronesia; however,
it is poorly documented east of Palau. Laticauda
may be found in extremely shallow shoreline and reef conditions.
As a member of the family Laticaudidae, it is one
of the few sea snakes known to haul out on
land for purposes of egg-laying or in sea caves
and isolated rock islands where aggregations of unknown significance
are reported.
It is technically a venomous species
but rarely bites defensively. Human envenomations are rare
or nonexistent. Its venom is only used in feeding to immobilize
fish and other animals on which it feeds. However, to be safe,
individuals of Laticauda should not be handled
casually by inexperienced persons. One or more harmless
banded eels have the elongated body form, paddle-like
tail and coloration of the yellow-lipped sea snake
and hence can be confused with this species.
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