| Laticauda | |
|---|---|
| Laticauda colubrina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Hydrophiidae or Elapidae |
| Genus: | Laticauda |
| Species | |
|
Laticauda colubrina |
|
Laticauda is a genus of snakes from the family Hydrophiidae. Laticauda are the least adapted to sea life of all the members of Hydrophiidae; they retain the wide ventral scales typical of terrestrial snakes and have only a poorly developed tail fin. Laticauda are adapted to living on land and in shallow seas.
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A sea krait can grow up to 11 feet long (3.6 meters).
Laticauda are found throughout the south and southeast Asian islands spreading from India in the west, north as far as Japan, and southeast to Fiji. They are mostly found in coastal waters.[1]
Laticauda feed in the ocean, mostly eating moray and conger eels. Some Laticauda eat squid, crabs, and fish. They have never been observed feeding on land.
Laticauda are often active at night, which is when they prefer to hunt. Even though they contain highly toxic venom, Laticauda are usually shy and reclusive, and in New Caledonia, where they are called tricot rayé ("stripey sweater"), children play with them. Bites are extremely rare, but must be treated immediately.[2] Black-banded sea kraits, numbering in their hundreds, form hunting alliances with Yellow Goatfish and Bluefin Trevally, flushing potential prey from narrow crannies in a reef the same way that some Moray eels do. [3][4]
Laticauda are oviparous, and they return to land in order to mate and lay eggs. Several males will form a mating ball around the female, twitching their bodies in what is termed 'caudocephalic waves'. Though these animals can occur in high densities in suitable locations, nests of eggs are very rarely encountered, suggesting that specific nesting conditions need to be met.
Eight species are currently recognised,[5][6]
The species L. schistorhynchus and L. semifasciata have been placed in the genus Pseudolaticauda by some authors [7]
Sea snakes have tick parasites with occasionally heavy infestations.[8]