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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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