Poisonous Snakes of fhe World 



yoiiiii; nrr imt ^trlkliiKly illtTcrciit I'n'iii ulliri' xra siiiikrs. 

 KcroKliltloii o( till' ynimi; iiiiil ilHTfrciitliillnn ol' llic 

 Mliioiis s|M>clfN of siiiilll'lirmlcil sfii sliilkcs Is illlUriill. 

 Ill tills spcrlcs llic vi'iilrnls iirc (llstiiii-lly « idrr lliiiii llif 

 iiiljiuflit Ni'iili's IIii-i>iikIii>iiI till' li-iiulli III' 111)- IiimI.v iimiI 

 till- tiiliil vi'iiti'til romit Is IiIkIi. usually MKI nr iinn'c. 



Tliirk part i>f Imily uniy tn illrly yi-llow ctdssciI liy 

 ilark IiiiikIs tlial arc widosi in tlit- iiildtllc of llii> liiick, 

 Imt tapor to iHiiiits laterally; neck dark ollvi' to black 

 with yellow spots or irosshars ; liead iiiiit'oniily dark. 



'riie iiiaxliiniiii leiiKlli docs not exceed I I'ci'l ; Mvcraue 

 specimens are about S feet. 



I\'riiiii>k.i: Tlie lieiivy body elves slablllly In lloaliiin 

 while the small head and loiiK slender neck permit tin' 

 snake to explore holes and crevices In seaiih of the 

 eels and other eloiiKnte tishes thai arc lis fond. In 

 swininiInK free, the head and neck arc held sliai;;hl aii<l 

 almost motionless. This species is icpiirlc<l to be pri- 

 marily nocturnal in the riiilippines. 



Smallheaded sea snakes are amoiiK llie least prolilic 

 of snakes, females ;;ivinK birth to only I or 2 youiif; in 

 a season. 



.VlthouKh it is ditficult to imagine these reptiles biliii;;- 

 effectively, there is at least one fatality ascribed lo the 

 bite of a small-headed sen snake. Venom yields are 

 niiiiule (less than 1 iiiK- per snake), but the venom is 

 extremely toxic, beiiiK about eciual to that of Enhydrina 

 (p. l(!8l. 



Other widely distributed small-heads of the (jenus 

 I ti)il mollis include IT. hcJclwri of Australian and I'acili<' 

 seas and H. hrookei, H. caerulescens, and II. klosai of 

 Indo-Malaysiau waters. 



Graceful Small-headed Sea Snake, M/rfon/ih/i/o- 

 ph is gnirilis ( Slia w ) . 



Iihtitifirutiiiii: This snake differs from llic banded 

 small-headed sea snake in certain features of the skull 



.\nlerior pari of body liicliidini,' lii'jid black lo dark 

 olive with while or yellow h|ki|s or baiiils; posterior 

 Ipiirl pale yellow lo t;reeiilsli with darker crossbands or 

 uniform i;ray above and IlKht lalerally and vent rally. 



.MosI iidiills of Ibis species measure .'iO In .'i.'i inches; 

 maximum Icnulli is about VI inches. 



Hardwicke's Sea Snake, La jhui'is Ikh-iI irirkii (iiay. 



Iilinlifictiliiiii: .V rallicr shcu-l, stocky sea snake; 

 head chunky, wiilcr lliaii neck; rostral with .'{ stubby 

 downward projeclicuis lillini; into notches in the chin; 

 vcnirals ikjI well different iaied except on neck; irregular 

 rows of enlarged scales low on Hanks. 



FioriiK llil. — Hardwicke's Sea Snake, Lapemis hard- 

 irickii. I'hoto by Edward H. Taylor (Preserved 

 specimen ) . 



Figure 118. — Graceful Small-headed Sea Snake, Micro- 

 ccphalofihin graciUa. The small end is the head. U.S. 

 Navy photo. 



and in the type of ventrals which are distinctly wider 

 than the adjacent scales on the slender part of the body 

 but become smaller and fragmented posteriorly ; the 

 ventral count does not exceed 300. 



Greenish or yellowish above, with series of dark cross- 

 bands that are much wider than the light areas between 

 them: paler below; head dark with or without lighter 

 mottling; tail barred with black tip. 



The average length of adults is 2.5 to .30 inches with 

 a maximum of about 35 inches. 



Remarks: A very abundant snake in shallow estu- 

 aries along coasts of Viet Nam, Malaya, and the Phili])- 

 pines and often taken in fish nets. It is most abundant 

 during the rainy season (.July to November). 



Despite the very small venom yield (about 2 mg. from 

 an adult snake) several fatal bites are on record; tox- 

 icit.v of the venom is less than that of the beaked sea 

 snake I p. 163). 



Pelagic Sea Snake, PeJaiui.s phitunis (Linnaeus). 

 Idtiiti/icdtinii: Head elongate, flat, slightly wider 

 than neck ; body of moderate build, very strongly com- 

 pressed laterally ; the entire appearance is very eel- 

 like. Head shields large, symmetrical ; body scales 

 small, quadrangular; ventrals not larger than adjacent 

 scales. 



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