Hydrophis klossi

Hydrophis klossi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae[1]
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Hydrophis
Species: H. klossi
Binomial name
Hydrophis klossi
Boulenger, 1912

Hydrophis klossi, commonly known as Kloss's sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae.[1]

Geographic range

It is found in the Indian Ocean in West Malaysia, Thailand (including Phuket), and Indonesia (Sumatra).

Description

Body olive dorsally and yellowish ventrally, with black rings, which are wider than the interspaces on the dorsum, but narrower on the venter. Head black with yellowish spots.

The type specimen is 90 cm (35 inches) in total length, with a tail 7.5 cm (3 inches) long.

Dorsal scales imbricate (overlapping), smooth on the anterior part of the body, keeled on the posterior part, arranged in 33 rows around the thickest part of the body (in 25 rows around the neck). Ventrals 360.

Head small. Body very slender anteriorly. Diameter of eye slightly less than its distance from the mouth. Rostral slightly broader than deep. Frontal very small, as long as broad, less than half as large as the supraocular. One anterior temporal. Five upper labials, fourth (or third and fourth) entering the eye. Two pairs of chin shields, in contact with each other. Ventrals only slightly larger than the contiguous scales.[2]

Etymology and taxonomic history

The snake is named after Cecil Boden Kloss (1877–1949), director of the Raffles Museum in Singapore from 1923 to 1932.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Hydrophis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  2. Boulenger, 1912.

Further reading