Sea snakes (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae) in their westernmost extent: an updated and illustrated checklist and key to the species in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

By

Rezaie-Atagholipour, Mohsen
Ghezellou, Parviz
Hesni, Majid Askari
Dakhteh, Seyyed Mohammad Hashem
Ahmadian, Hooman
Vidal, Nicolas

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2016

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

622

Pages

129-164

Subjects

Indian Ocean , new record , Reptiles , Serpentes , venomous , viviparous

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.622.9939

 

Abstract

The Persian Gulf is known as the westernmost distribution limit for sea snakes, except for Hydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766) that reaches southeastern Africa. Previous identification guides for sea snakes of the Persian Gulf and its adjacent waters in the Gulf of Oman were based on old data and confined mostly to written descriptions. Therefore, a series of field surveys were carried out in 2013 and 2014 through Iranian coastal waters of both gulfs to provide a comprehensive sampling of sea snakes in the area. This paper presents an illustrated and updated checklist and identification tool for sea snakes in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, which are based on new material and a review of the literature. This checklist includes ten species of marine hydrophiines, of which one, Microcephalophis cantoris (Günther, 1864), is a new record for the area. All specimens examined herein are deposited and available at the Zoological Museum of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman province, Iran.