Aipysurus duboisii

Aipysurus duboisii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Aipysurus
Species: A. duboisii
Binomial name
Aipysurus duboisii
Bavay, 1869[2][3]

Aipysurus duboisii, also known as the Dubois' sea snake or reef shallows sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake. Its geographic range includes Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the northern, eastern and western coastal areas of Australia, that is the Coral Sea, Arafura Sea, Timor Sea and Indian Ocean.[4] They live at depths up to 80 meters in coral reef flats, sandy and silty sediments which contain seaweed, invertebrates and corals or sponges that can serve as shelter. These snakes feed on moray eels and various fish that live on the seafloor, up to 110 cm in size. They are viviparous, giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs.[5][6] They have medium aggressiveness, i.e. will bite if provoked, but not spontaneously.[7] The fangs are 1.8 mm long, which are relatively short for a snake, and the venom yield is 0.43 mg.[8] Aipysurus duboisii is a crepuscular species, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk.[9]

It is the most venomous sea snake, and one of the top three most venomous snakes in the world.[10][11][12]

Etymology

The specific name, duboisii, is in honor of Belgian naturalist Charles Frédéric Dubois.[13]

Description

Adults grow up to 148 cm in length but usually to around 80 cm. Their head is slightly wider than their body with nostrils on its upper part and nasals contacting each other. Eyes are separated from supralabial scales by a row of large subocular scales. Dorsal scales are usually smooth, but sometimes have a small keel or small knobs. Individuals vary significantly in color and its body patterns. The tail is relatively long; the chin and throat have lighter color than rest of the body.[5]

Venom

The acute toxicity of snake venom is conventionally tested on laboratory animals and is evaluated in terms of the median lethal dose (LD50), that is, the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population divided by the weight of the tested animal. The LD50 depends on the animal. Rabbits are about twice as sensitive to sea snake venom as mice, and fish and frogs are even more susceptible. The LD50 for subcutaneous injection of A. duboisii venom into mice is 0.044 mg/kg of body weight. This makes A. duboisii the most venomous sea snake tested, and one of the top three most venomous snakes in the world, together with the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus, LD50=0.025 mg/kg) and the eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis, LD50=0.0365 mg/kg).[8][10][11][12][14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lukoschek, V.; Guinea, M.; Milton, D.; Courtney, T. & Fletcher, E. (2010). "Aipysurus duboisii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Bavay A. (1869). "Catalogue des Reptiles de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et descriptions d'espèces nouvelles ". Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Normandie 15:1-37. (Aipysurus duboisii, new species, p. 33). (in French).
  3. ↑ "Aipysurus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  4. ↑ Aipysurus duboisii — Dubois' Seasnake, Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
  5. 1 2 Aipysurus duboisii Bavay, 1869, SeaLifeBase site: UBC - Canada
  6. ↑ Heatwole, p. 22.
  7. ↑ Heatwole, p. 121.
  8. 1 2 Heatwole, p. 115.
  9. ↑ Heatwole, p. 40.
  10. 1 2 Ernst, Carl H.; Zug, George R. (1996). Snakes in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book. Washington D.C., USA: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. ISBN 1-56098-648-4.
  11. 1 2 Fry, Bryan, Deputy Director, Australian Venom Research Unit, University of Melbourne (March 9, 2002). "Snakes Venom LD50 – list of the available data and sorted by route of injection ". venomdoc.com. (archived) Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  12. 1 2 The Australian venom research unit (August 25, 2007). "Which snakes are the most venomous?". University of Melbourne. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  13. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Aipysurus duboisi, p. 76).
  14. ↑ Gopalakrishnakone, P. (1994). Sea Snake Toxinology. NUS Press. ISBN 9971-69-193-0 p. 98.

Bibliography

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