Sea Snake Research Articles

Environmental and Ecological Effects of Climate Change on Venomous Marine and Amphibious Species in the Wilderness

Recent analyses of data show a warming trend in global average air and sea surface ocean temperatures. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, the sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased. This article will focus on climate change and projected effects on venomous marine and amphibious creatures with the potential impact on human health. Retrospective analysis of environmental, ecological, and medical literature with a focus on climate change, toxinology, and future modeling specific to venomous aquatic and amphibious creatures. Species included venomous jellyfish, poisonous fish, crown-of-thorns starfish, sea snakes, and toxic frogs. In several projected scenarios, rising temperatures, weather extremes, and shifts in seasons will increase poisonous population numbers, particularly with certain marine creatures like jellyfish and crown-of-thorns starfish. Habitat expansions by lionfish and sea snakes are projected to occur. These phenomena, along with increases in human populations and coastal development will likely increase human-animal encounters. Other species, particularly amphibious toxic frogs, are declining rapidly due to their sensitivity to any temperature change or subtle alterations in the stability of their environment. If temperatures continue to rise to record levels over the next decades, it is predicted that the populations of these once plentiful and critically important animals to the aquatic ecosystem will decline and their geographic distributions will shrink. Review of the literature investigating the effect and forecasts of climate change on venomous marine and amphibious creatures has demonstrated that temperature extremes and changes to climatic norms will likely have a dramatic effect on these toxicological organisms. The effects of climate change on these species through temperature alteration and rising coastal waters will influence each species differently and in turn potentially affect commercial industries, travel, tourism, and human health.

Bycatches of endangered, threatened and protected species in marine fisheries

Bycatch remains one of the most significant fisheries issues in the world and its monitoring and reporting is now expected in many regions. This paper provides a global synthesis of the data that are available on one of the most controversial components of bycatch, that associated with the capture and discarding of endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species in marine commercial and artisanal fisheries. We examine the available literature regarding estimates for the key taxa in this category of bycatch (seabirds, turtles, sea snakes, marine mammals, sharks, rays and teleosts) and use the data to try to provide a total global estimate. We estimate (albeit quite imprecisely) that at least 20 million individuals of such species are discarded annually throughout the world. However, there remain far too many gaps and uncertainties across fisheries and regions in the information to provide any robustness (or variance) around such an estimate, nor to determine the actual fates of these animals (many may survive). This is exacerbated because: (1) the occurrences of such species are often rare and controversial and so go either unnoticed and/or unrecorded; (2) different levels of protection are afforded to different ETP species in different countries and fisheries and; (3) discarding practices vary greatly across a hierarchy of spatio-temporal scales and according to individual fishing conditions and procedures—the latter affecting actual mortalities. Nevertheless, there have been major initiatives established in recent years to provide better data on such interactions in addition to novel fishing methods and practices that reduce them and also improve the survival of discarded individuals. This paper discusses the data currently available and the quite significant gaps that remain.

Identification of sea snake meat adulteration in meat products using PCR-RFLP of mitochondrial DNA

PCR-RFLP based technique for identification of sea snakes in Thai waters was achieved by developing species-specific markers. To distinguish between sea snake species, the PCR products of cytochrome b (Cyt b), 12S and 16S rRNA were sequenced and cut with different restriction endonuclease, Alu I and Hinf I. Each enzyme generated different - sized fragments which specific to Cyt b of eight sea snake species. However, the identical pattern was found among Hydrophis group. This result could be resolved by using these enzymes 12S rRNA digestion. This technique was successfully applied to blood, shed skin, raw meat, cooked meat, sea snake-fish binary admixture, and sea snake-pork binary admixture. Hence, it could be applied for identification when sea snake meat adulteration in meat products and sold as meatballs to reduce production costs. Hopefully, this technique would improve sea snake species identification when morphological examination is no longer possible because the animals are already processed. This is very important to track when sea snake species are being hunted and also used to assess the conservation and management of the sea snakes in Thai waters, especially the Gulf of Thailand.

Glycosaminoglycans from a Sea Snake (Lapemis curtus): Extraction, Structural Characterization and Antioxidant Activity.

Sea snakes have wide application prospects in medicine, health food and other fields. Several novel polysaccharides were successfully obtained from the skin and the meat of a sea snake (Lapemis curtus). The structures of polysaccharides LSP3 and LMP3, which were extracted and purified from Lapemis curtus, were determined to be new and highly heterogenic glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) by means of FT-IR, ESI-MS/MS and NMR. LSP3 is a hybrid dermatan sulfate (DS) and composed of 48% 4-sulfated disaccharides (Di4S), 42% 6-sulfated disaccharides (Di6S) and 5% disulfated disaccharides (Di2,6S), while LMP3 is a hybrid chondroitin sulfate (CS) and composed of 70% Di4S, 20% Di6S, and 8% Di2,6S. More importantly, LSP3 and LMP3 showed a strong scavenging ability of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, iron (Fe2+) chelating activity and total antioxidant capacity in vitro, especially LSP3, with high contents of uronic acid and sulfate, which possessed a higher scavenging ability of DPPH radicals than other fractions. These data suggested that the sea snake polysaccharides could be promising candidates for natural antioxidant ingredients.

Pelagic Sea Snakes Drink Fresh Water at Beginning of Wet Season

The Yellow‐bellied sea snake (Hydrophis platurus) is the only pelagic species of marine snake and ranges from southern Africa across the Indo‐Pacific to the Pacific coast of Central America. It is subject to long‐range movements by drifting with gyres and currents, and it is the only species of sea snake to have reached the Americas. Like other sea snakes investigated recently, this species is dependent on fresh water (FW) and dehydrates at sea during periods of drought. Because of its pelagic marine habitat, the only source of FW for this snake is rainfall that forms a freshwater or dilute brackish‐water lens during intense precipitation over the ocean. In the coastal region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, there is a 6‐mo dry season without significant rainfall usually ending in May. During a research trip to Costa Rica from 5 to 14 May 2017, we captured H. platurus daily during the morning and returned them immediately to the laboratory where they were air‐dried, weighed, and placed individually in FW. Snakes were held in FW for approximately 20 h, following which they were air‐dried on a towel and reweighed. Drinking of FW was observed immediately when some snakes were placed in FW; others were determined to have ingested water by changes in mass that occurred overnight (5 to 27 % body mass; mean = 14.2 ± 0.87 s.e.m.). When we arrived in Costa Rica, there had not been significant rainfall at the location where snakes were studied; the weather was hot and dry, and there was no precipitation over the ocean. A large proportion of snakes that were captured during the first two days drank FW. Between the second and third day there was heavy rainfall during the afternoon, and we observed that rain fell in large amounts over the Golfo de Papagayo where we collected the snakes. During the next several days, heavy rainfall occurred during the afternoon or evening, and precipitation again fell over the ocean. The percentage of snakes drinking after capture decreased with time, falling from ~ 80% before the rains began to 13% on the seventh day. Our data clearly indicate that fewer and fewer snakes were in negative water balance as the wet season began in context of precipitation we observed over the ocean. Thus, it is appropriate to conclude that thirsty snakes having accumulated a water deficit during the previous dry season were drinking from FW‐brackish oceanic lenses when precipitation began to fall over the Golfo de Papagayo. We were extremely fortunate to be able to quantify drinking behaviors of sea snakes precisely at the transition from dry to wet season when rainfall first impacted the ocean at our location. These data reinforce the importance of fresh water for pelagic sea snakes, which dehydrate in the ocean and are thus susceptible to changing patterns of precipitation that might result from climatic changes related to global warming.Support or Funding InformationNational Science Foundation grant IOS‐0926802 to HBLThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

POTENSI BAHAYA BAGI KESELAMATAN PENGUNJUNG DI KAWASAN WISATA PANTAI PANGANDARAN KABUPATEN PANGANDARAN JAWA BARAT

Pangandaran Beach Tourism Area is one of leading tourism areas in West Java. During certain period of time, hazard has often cause accidents toward visitors in the area. Therefore, there is a need to identify physical and biological hazards which threaten visitors’ safety in order to develop visitor safety management. Research was carried out in June – July 2011, and an update was conducted in January – February 2017, which covered three locations, i.e. Pantai Barat, Pantai Timur, and Pantai Pasir Putih. Field observation, interview with visitors, community and lifeguard, and literature review were employed in data collection. A hundred respondents for each visitor and community was selected using convenient sampling method. The result found rip current, plunging wave, tsunami, earthquake, wave, and tide as physical hazard, while jellyfish, sea snake, sea urchin, lionfish, and stone fish as biological hazard found in the sea, and long-tailed macaque as terrestrial biological hazard. Rip current possessed substantial risk that had to be avoided through the establishment of swimming prohibition area. Visitor’s safety management technique option for rip current hazard involved a socialization toward visitors about self-rescue technique in case they are swept by rip current.

Rationally designed sea snake structure based triboelectric nanogenerators for effectively and efficiently harvesting ocean wave energy with minimized water screening effect

Ocean waves are one of the most power dense energy sources in the environment. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been demonstrated to effectively harvest mechanical energy carried by low frequency, random/irregular actuation, such as from ocean waves. In this work, a novel design of triboelectric nanogenerator based on the Pelamis snake energy harvester is presented. The sea snake based TENG, with its lightweight structure, was able to harvest energy effectively at low amplitude ocean wave by utilizing charged polytetrafluroethylene balls that would roll due to the wave's curvature. With the integration of springs to connect different segments, the segments are able to bend easily, allowing the enclosed balls to move faster, producing higher output power. The design of an air gap structure allows each segments of the sea snake based TENG to minimize electrostatic induction from ions in sea water, and solve the effect of dielectric shielding from the water on the device performance, as the water, if it is close to the TENG's electrodes, has a detrimental effect causing an increase of the TENG's internal capacitance, which would result in a low voltage with the same amount of charge being transformed. Thus, this illustrates the importance of the air gap structure to minimize low voltage due to high internal capacitance. This further shows the sea snake based triboelectric nanogenerator could be used in actual ocean conditions, such as in high salinity water environment. The added tampered spring to replace the air gap was able to allow the balls on the TENG to move more quickly, as it increased the rotational angle, and the TENG has a maximum power density of 3 W/m3 under actuation. Due to the minimization of dielectric shielding of device performance, the sea snake TENG exhibits a high voltage in simulated water wave conditions.

Trophic specialization drives morphological evolution in sea snakes.

Viviparous sea snakes are the most rapidly speciating reptiles known, yet the ecological factors underlying this radiation are poorly understood. Here, we reconstructed dated trees for 75% of sea snake species and quantified body shape (forebody relative to hindbody girth), maximum body length and trophic diversity to examine how dietary specialization has influenced morphological diversification in this rapid radiation. We show that sea snake body shape and size are strongly correlated with the proportion of burrowing prey in the diet. Specialist predators of burrowing eels have convergently evolved a ‘microcephalic’ morphotype with dramatically reduced forebody relative to hindbody girth and intermediate body length. By comparison, snakes that predominantly feed on burrowing gobies are generally short-bodied and small-headed, but there is no evidence of convergent evolution. The eel specialists also exhibit faster rates of size and shape evolution compared to all other sea snakes, including those that feed on gobies. Our results suggest that trophic specialization to particular burrowing prey (eels) has invoked strong selective pressures that manifest as predictable and rapid morphological changes. Further studies are needed to examine the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying these dramatic morphological changes and assess their role in sea snake speciation.

Molecular evidence for the first records of facultative parthenogenesis in elapidsnakes.

Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction by which embryos develop from unfertilized eggs. Parthenogenesis occurs in reptiles; however, it is not yet known to occur in the widespread elapid snakes (Elapidae), which include well-known taxa such as cobras, mambas, taipans and sea snakes. Here, we describe the production of viable parthenogens in two species of Australo-Papuan elapids with divergent reproductive modes: the oviparous coastal/Papuan taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) and the viviparous southern death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus). Analyses of nuclear SNP data excluded paternity for putative fathers and convincingly demonstrated asexual reproduction, thus representing the first evidence of facultative parthenogenesis in Elapidae. Our finding has broad implications for understanding the evolution of reproductive diversity in snakes, as well as managing the conservation of genetic diversity in wild and captive populations.

Spine-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis curtus) venom shows greater skeletal myotoxicity compared with cardiac myotoxicity

For the first time the impedance-based xCELLigence real-time cell analysis system was used to measure the myotoxicity of sea snake venom. With a focus on the spine-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis curtus), the venom of four sea snake species and three terrestrial snake species were compared for myotoxicity against a human skeletal muscle cell line (HSkMC). Hydrophis curtus venom was also tested on a human cardiac muscle cell line (HCM). Surprisingly, all four sea snake venoms tested on HSkMC produced an initial 100–280% rise in xCELLigence cell index that peaked within the first two hours before falling. The cell index rise of H. curtus venom was correlated with the WST-1 cell proliferation assay, which demonstrated an increase in mitochondrial metabolism. The myotoxicity of H. curtus was 4.7–8.2 fold less potent than the other sea snakes tested, the Australian beaked sea snake (Hydrophis zweifeli), the elegant sea snake (Hydrophis elegans) and the olive sea snake (Aipysurus laevis). If our cell-based results translate to H. curtus envenomations, this implies that H. curtus would be less myotoxic than the other three. Yet the myotoxicity of H. curtus venom to cardiac muscle cells was nine times weaker than for skeletal muscle cells, providing evidence that the venom has a selective effect on skeletal muscle cells. This evidence, combined with the slow-acting nature of the venom, supports a digestive role for sea snake myotoxins.

Biography of a snake charmer in Saidpur, Bangladesh

Though Saidpur Upazila under Nilphamari district is very small but here pigeonry, goat rearing, herbal treatments, circus team, monkey charmer, horse race and snake charmers are available. Snake charmers are not living well in this modern era. Their kids are not safe at home for snake rearing. In Savar, Dhaka there is a snake market where some tribal people buy it as food. People who are engaged with snake catching and snake-based superstitions go to that market. They support medical science and are waiting to get a good job. Who take snakes as food they say its meat is very hot. Depending on body size its price varies from 1000 to 2000 taka of a poisonous snake. People of the circus team, zoo committee and intersex people collects snakes from the snake charmer. Tradition of snake charming in Bangladesh is very ancient. Once upon a time most of the villagers liked it. Some peoples were considered as bede or tribal people who caught snakes from the jungle. Though Bangladesh is a small country but its 80 species of snakes are remarkable. Within these only cobras, kraits and sea snakes are poisonous and most of the cobras are bicellate type. Common vine snakes, tree snake and rat snakes are very common and nonpoisonous snakes of Bangladesh. After catching a snake, the charmer cuts the poison sac or rubs both fangs of the snakes. As poison of the snakes are digestive juice so that those snakes can suffer digestive ailments and ultimately die. The temperature of Rangpur division of Bangladesh is 350-370F which is suitable for snakes’ survival. There were 30.77% poisonous and 69.23% non poisonous snakes’ in Bangladesh in three families.1 In Bangladesh out of 82 species 28 are venomous and 12 are sea snakes.2 Estimates indicate ˃5 million bites annually by venomous snakes worldwide where ˃12500 deaths.3,4 Some research work have completed on snakes taxonomy, status, distribution and epidemiology of snake bite.5‒7 India has the highest number of snake bites in the world with 35000-50000 annually according to World Health Organization.8,9 In Bangladesh this is 4.3per 100000 an annual incidence and case fatality is 20%.10

Large palaeophiid and nigerophiid snakes from Paleogene Trans-Saharan Seaway deposits of Mali

The Paleogene was a time of high diversity for snakes, and was characterized by some of the largest species known to have existed. Among these snakes were pan-Tethyan marine species of Nigerophiidae and Palaeophiidae. The latter family included the largest sea snake, Palaeophis colossaeus, known from the Trans-Saharan Seaway of Mali during the Eocene. This paper describes new material collected from Malian Trans-Saharan Seaway deposits, including additional material of Palaeophis colossaeus, a new, large species of nigerophiid, Amananulam sanogoi gen. et sp. nov., and a medium-sized snake of indeterminate affinities. The material provides new information on the intracolumnar variation of the vertebral column in Palaeophis colossaeus. We estimate the total length of each species by regression of vertebral measurements on body size. Both Palaeophis colossaeus and Amananulam sanogoi gen. et sp. nov. are the largest or among the largest members of their respective clades. The large size of Tethyan snakes may be indicative of higher temperatures in the tropics than are present today.

The Venom of the Spine-Bellied Sea Snake (Hydrophis curtus): Proteome, Toxin Diversity and Intraspecific Variation.

The spine-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis curtus) is known to cause human deaths, yet its venom composition has not yet been proteomically characterised. An in-depth proteomic analysis was performed on H. curtus venom from two different seasons, January and June, corresponding to adults and subadults, respectively. Venoms from adult and subadult H. curtus individuals were compared using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) to detect intraspecific variation, and the molecular weight data obtained with ESI-MS were used to assess toxin diversity. RP-HPLC and LC-ESI-MS/MS were used to characterise the venom proteome and estimate the relative abundances of protein families present. The most abundant protein family in January and June venoms is phospholipase A2 (PLA2: January 66.7%; June 54.5%), followed by three-finger toxins (3FTx: January 30.4%; June 40.4%) and a minor component of cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISP: January 2.5%; June 5%). Trace amounts of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMP), C-type lectins and housekeeping and regulatory proteins were also found. Although the complexity of the venom is low by number of families present, each family contained a more diverse set of isoforms than previously reported, a finding that may have implications for the development of next-generation sea snake antivenoms. Intraspecific variability was shown to be minor with one obvious exception of a 14,157-Da protein that was present in some January (adult) venoms, but not at all in June (subadult) venoms. There is also a greater abundance of short-chain neurotoxins in June (subadult) venom compared with January (adult) venom. These differences potentially indicate the presence of seasonal, ontogenetic or sexual variation in H. curtus venom.

Congruent phylogeographic patterns in a young radiation of live‐bearing marine snakes: Pleistocene vicariance and the conservation implications of cryptic genetic diversity

AbstractAimTo investigate phylogeographic patterns among and within co‐occurring sea snake species from Australia's endemic viviparous Aipysurus lineage, which includes critically endangered species, and evaluate the conservation implications of geographically structured patterns of genetic divergence and diversity.LocationAustralia's tropical shallow water marine environments spanning four regions: Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC), Timor Sea (TS) and coastal WA (WAC).MethodsSamples from >550 snakes representing all nine nominal Aipysurus group species were obtained from throughout their known Australian ranges. Coalescent phylogenetic analyses and Bayesian molecular dating of mitochondrial DNA, combined with Bayesian and traditional population genetic analyses of 11 microsatellite loci, were used to evaluate genetic divergence and diversity.ResultsMitochondrial DNA revealed highly congruent phylogeographic breaks among co‐occurring species, largely supported by nuclear microsatellites. For each species, each region was characterized by a unique suite of haplotypes (phylogroups). Divergences between the TS, GoC and/or GBR were invariably shallow and dated as occurring 50,000–130,000 years ago, coinciding with the cyclic Pleistocene emergence of the Torres Strait land bridge. By contrast, sea snakes from coastal WA were consistently highly divergent from other regions and dated as diverging 178,000–526,000 years ago, which was not associated with any known vicariant events.Main ConclusionsPreviously unappreciated highly divergent sea snake lineages in coastal WA potentially represent cryptic species, highlighting this region as a high‐priority area for conservation. The cyclic emergence of the Torres Strait land bridge is consisted with observed divergences between the TS, GoC and/or GBR; however, processes involved in the earlier divergences involving the WAC remain to be determined. The observed strong population genetic structures (as surrogates for dispersal) indicate that sea snakes have limited potential to reverse population declines via replenishment from other sources over time frames relevant to conservation.

Paleoclimatology, Paleogeography, and the Evolution and Distribution of Sea Kraits (Serpentes; Elapidae;Laticauda)

The geographic range of sea kraits encompasses one of the geologically most-complex regions of the world. At its center lies Wallacea (the transition between the terrestrial biotas of the Asian and Australian tectonic plates) and the Indonesian Throughflow (nexus of the equatorial marine biotas of the Indian and Pacific oceans). The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of paleogeography, paleoclimatology, and oceanic currents in the evolution and distribution of sea kraits across these major biogeographic crossroads and beyond. A recent assessment of times of taxonomic divergence was projected against paleogeographic reconstructions to produce a parsimonious, hypothetical model of events critical for the origin, dispersal, and differentiation of this taxon. Times and degree of divergence of taxa suggested by recent morphological and molecular studies are in accord with various climatological and geologic events. The model postulates that the distribution of sea kraits was neither greatly affected by tectonics, other than the approach of the Australian Plate to the Asian one, nor dominated by the historic barriers to dispersal of terrestrial fauna across Wallacea, or by the Indonesian Throughflow. Rather, the model suggests that two major factors—paleogeographic alteration of the configuration of land and sea, and the directions of sea currents, past and present—provide an explanation of how these amphibious snakes (1) originated from a terrestrial Asian elapid ancestor, (2) subsequently generated the venomous Australian land snakes and their derivatives the true sea snakes, and (3) differentiated into the species complexes, species, and infraspecific entities of the genus Laticauda.

Biogeographic origins of the viviparous sea snake assemblage (Elapidae) of the Indian Ocean

One of the primary goals in biogeography is to understand how different biotas have been assembled in different regions of the world. The presence of the viviparous sea snakes in the Indian Ocean (IO) poses a unique question in this regard due to their evolutionary origins in Australasia (Australia and New Guinea). Here, we examined the origins and patterns of colonization of the IO sea snake assemblage through time-calibrated molecular phylogenies and ancestral area reconstructions. We further evaluated how past and present barriers to dispersal affect genetic diversity of IO sea snakes by examining the population genetic structure of the widespread sea snake, Hydrophis curtus . Our phylogenetic analyses and ancestral area reconstructions strongly indicate that the majority of the IO sea snakes are derived from the Southeast Asian (SEA) sea snake fauna through dispersal and colonization with an in situ radiation ( Hydrophis stricticollis-Hydrophis obscurus clade). Further, many species have undergone vicariant speciation events across the Sunda shelf/Indo-Pacific barrier, which formed during the low sea level periods of the Pleistocene. Population genetic analysis of H. curtus revealed a prominent genetic break between populations broadly distributed in the IO and SEA with limited recent gene flow indicating possible cryptic species. These results suggest that compared to the viviparous sea snake stem group that originated 10.6-6.5 million years ago, the IO viviparous sea snakes have a relatively long and complex evolutionary history in the IO and thus have a unique conservation value.

A prospective observational study of drug usage in the management of snake bite patients and their outcome in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: The objectives of the study were to assess the pattern of management of snakebite especially with respect to use of anti- snake venom and other supportive treatment given and to assess the effect of anti-snake venom on different types of snakebite and to assess their outcome.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted over a period of 6 months, after getting approval from Institutional Ethics committee. Total of 144 snake bite patients were analysed for six months duration for use of anti-snake venom and other supportive treatment in their management and were assessed for their outcome like recovery, morbidity and mortality.Results: Out of 144 snake bite patients analysed, 71.5% had poisonous type and 28.4% had non- poisonous type of snake bite. Among the total number of snakebites, 47.2% were unknown type and among the known type 25% were viper, 13.2% cobra, 7.6% krait, 6.3% sea snake and 0.7% green snake. Anti-snake venom (ASV) was given to 62 patients depending on severity, of which, 22 patients developed reaction to ASV. Patient with reaction to ASV were treated with corticosteroid and antihistamine injection. Morbidity was seen in 29.1% of patients who developed either cellulitis or gangrene of bitten area, which was more commonly seen among viper bite patients (54.7%).Conclusions: Snakebite is one of the commonest tropical diseases leading to envenomation and poisoning especially in rural areas of tropical countries which has to be treated as early as possible to prevent complications. Majority of the cases in our study were of viper bite and most of them have recovered after treatment.

Why Are There No Sea Snakes in the Atlantic?

Roughly 70 species of sea snakes inhabit the Indo-Pacific but are absent from the Atlantic Ocean. Paleoclimatic conditions in the Coral Triangle were favorable for evolutionary transitions to the sea, while those in the Caribbean region and coastlines bordering the Atlantic Ocean were less favorable. The dispersal of sea snakes from the Indian to Atlantic Oceans around the Cape of Good Hope has been prevented by low water temperatures and a lack of precipitation related to the presence of the Benguela Current along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa. The Isthmus of Panama fully separated the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans before the speciation and dispersal of the sole pelagic species of sea snake to reach the Central American Pacific shoreline. Future climatic changes could bring declines or extinctions of sea snakes within their present ranges, but they appear unlikely to favor the dispersal and establishment of sea snakes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Analysis of the Correct and Incorrect Reports on the Observation and Capture of Sea Snakes in the Coasts of South Korea

Analysis of the Correct and Incorrect Reports on the Observation and Capture of Sea Snakes in the Coasts of South Korea

INVENTARISASI JENIS – JENIS ULAR YANG DITEMUKAN DI SEKITAR PANTAI MERTA SARI DAN PADANG GALAK

Sea snakes have a strong venom and when they bite can be fatal for humans, whereas snakes found in mangrove areas are weak venomous snakes and non-venomous snakes (McKay, 2006). The low understanding public aboutthe snakes has led to the assumption that any snakes found are dangerous, so research needs to be done in order to provide information on the types of venomous and non-venomous snakes present in coastal areas and around mangrove forest areas. This research was conducted from early January to the end of January located around Merta Sari Beach to Padang Galak. The method used is the method of cruising method is done by determining the habitat that is likely suitable for snake habitat (Asad et al., 2011). Data collected in the morning and at night, by capturing and identifying snakes found in situ refers to the snake identification titled '107+ Ular Indonesia' (Riza Marlon, 2014), and the book 'Reptiles and Amphibians in Bali 'By Mckay (2006). Based on the results of the study, snakes found around Merta Sari Beach and Padang Galak Beach numbered 61 individual snakes with two different families namely Colubridae and Elapidae. Snake species of the Colubridae family found are Dog-faced Water Snake (Cerberus rynchops) and the Elapidae family is the Erabu/Yellow-lipped Sea Krait (Laticauda colubrina) snake