Abstract
We provide the first evidence of the presence of the Persian Gulf Sea Snake, Hydrophis lapemoides (Gray, 1849), along the coast of Bangladesh. This species was assumed to exist in there, but neither specimens nor confirmed observations exist until now. We document here the first confirmed record of H. lapemoides based on a freshly collected and taxonomically verified specimen from coastal Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi specimen had the following diagnostic characters: 55 black bands, a dorsal scale composition of 35:51:43, 342 ventrals, one pre-ocular, two post-oculars, 2+3 temporals, 8 supralabials (II largest and contact prefrontals; III–IV contact orbit) and 8 infralabials (I–IV contact genials).
Highlights
Sea snakes are secondarily adapted marine reptiles occurring in the shallow, coastal waters throughout tropical and subtropical regions (De Silva 1994; Rasmussen 1997; Heatwole 1999; Sanders et al 2008)
We provide the first evidence of the presence of the Persian Gulf Sea Snake, Hydrophis lapemoides (Gray, 1849), along the coast of Bangladesh
16 species of sea snakes from Bangladesh have been included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Bangladesh 2015)
Summary
Sea snakes are secondarily adapted marine reptiles occurring in the shallow, coastal waters throughout tropical and subtropical regions (De Silva 1994; Rasmussen 1997; Heatwole 1999; Sanders et al 2008). 16 species of sea snakes from Bangladesh have been included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN Bangladesh 2015). Among these species, the occurrence of 11 are substantiated in the scientific literature (Khan 1982, 1987, 1992, 2008, 2015, 2018; Sarker and Sarker 1988; Kabir et al 2009; Hasan et al 2014; Sarker et al 2017). Presence of five species—Hydrophis lapemoides (Gray, 1849), H. obscurus Daudin, 1803, H. stokesii (Gray, 1846), Laticauda colubrina (Stejneger, 1907), and L. laticaudata (Linnaeus, 1758)—is yet to be confirmed
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