Up to 300 metres / 984 feet deep over sandy sea bottoms in South East Asia and Oceania. The belcher's sea snake is of moderate size, ranging from 0.5 to 1 meter (about 20-40 inches) in adult length. This means that they can live in water, but they can’t go out to sea—they have to stay near the shore. “Elapids“. Takasaki, Chikahisa. Local effects – swelling, bleeding, pain, are minimal or absent. This article uses material from Wikipedia released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike Licence 3.0. So, though the Faint-banded Sea Snake is extremely venomous, it is by no means a "dangerous" species to humans. Britannica.com. “What Happens When Two of Ocean’s Most Venomous Creatures Fight“. It might not be as swish on land, though. That’s because it’s easier to hunt there. Kharin, V.E. No date. It is generally docile and not aggressive. Forbes. For now. The head is short and has bands of the same colours. 2018. I mentioned him in the inland taipan post, but Dr. Bryan Fry, or “David Attenborough on acid” in the reptile world, made a few forum posts to this effect. Otherwise, its apples and rocks.". Shukla, Priya. 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As Fry has pointed out, beyond the odd exception (looking at you, coastal taipan), sea snakes are usually docile and uninterested in scuba divers. Lightly banded sea-snake, until recently assumed the most venomous in the world. Perhaps even the snake isn’t sure of how dangerous it is, so its warning bands are just half-hearted. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. “Hydrophis belcheri (Gray, 1849)“. 2015. They’re an aquatic, but not pelagic, sea snake. Like other sea snakes, it has a paddle-like tail which makes it an expert swimmer, and it rarely goes on land. This species is also known by several other names including the banded sea krait and the yellow lipped krait. & Sanders, K. 2010. The snakes can corner their prey up against the coral. Less than 3% of sea snake bites turn out to be fatal, although I guess being bitten, and the realisation of said bite, could both be heart-stopping after a couple of hours. 2019. Even then, only some 25% of bites are accompanied by a venom injection. It usually bites fishermen handling nets, but only 25% of those bitten are envenomed. Sundstrom, Kathy, and McDonald, Bill. found evidence they were used for skins in Thailand and Vietnam, but this sea snake tends to avoid humans and isn’t considered commercially valuable – so it seems to be under the radar. While some sources report the faint-banded or Belcher’s sea snake as the most toxic, it doesn’t even make the top 10 according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the BBC or National Geographic. Studies on mice and human cardiac cell culture shows that venom of the inland taipan, drop by drop, is the most toxic among all snakes; land or sea. Mirtschin, Peter et al. Our range maps are based on limited data we have collected. Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. It has a timid temperament and would normally have to be subjected to severe mistreatment before biting. Admittedly I’m terrible at analogies, but it would be a bit like saying the potato is the quickest-cooking vegetable, but neglecting to mention it was blasted in a microwave while the rest were oven-cooked. To add a new location to the range map we need a clear image of the specimen you have encountered. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. “Is the Belcher’s sea snake the most venomous snake in the world?” 2018. 2009. No problem if you do not know the species, we will do our best to identify it for you. They, therefore, need to hunt for fish that are hiding in the coral, much like snakes on land that hunt for mam… Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. The most venomous sea snake is actually Dubois' seasnake (Aipysurus duboisii ). Because of this, and its docile nature, it is generally not regarded as very dangerous. Rasmussen A. et al. Bite Symptoms. How big? Featured image credit: © 2011 Rasmussen et al; Marine Reptiles. To help stay underwater, its tail has been flattened into a paddle, and like other members of its genus, the faint-banded sea snake has lungs the length of its entire body. No date. Its thin body is usually chrome yellowish in colour with dark greenish crossbands. It breathes air, and has valves over its nostrils that close underwater. Britannica.com. Scientists for Ethology found sea snakes to be exceptionally docile. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. “9 of the world’s deadliest snakes“. Metafact.io. No date. “Boy asks paramedics ‘am I going to die?’ after often-deadly sea snake bite on Sunshine Coast“. ABC News. “Sea snakes“. Due to its small fangs, it might bite you without you even knowing, and wouldn’t leave any impressive scars. Listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN, since it’s very elusive, rare, and we don’t know much about it. The dorsal pattern does not extend onto the venter. The specific name, belcheri, commemorates the Nova Scotian, Royal Navy Captain, later Admiral, Sir Edward Belcher KCB, RN (1799-1877) who collected the holotype. As an elapid, the faint-banded sea snake is actually related to cobras, and ripples about no deeper than 300 metres (984 feet) in the seas of South-East Asia and Oceania. What? A fun animal blog for when you’re inhaling those fumes. Banded sea kraits do not have an Aquarium of the Pacific habitat. It can hold its breath for as long as 7 to 8 hours while hunting and even sleeping, but then has to surface for a quick breath of air. It also wouldn’t be that interested in human flesh. Even if you go diving around their natural habitat, you’re unlikely to see them. Reptile Database. Change ). The Faint-banded Sea Snake Likes Soft Bottoms, Snakes: the good, the bad, and the deadly, What Happens When Two of Ocean’s Most Venomous Creatures Fight. This information is supplied for use as a reference. The body is strongly laterally compressed posteriorly. Special thanks to Ton Smits, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Ian Dugdale and many others for their contribution for range data. Usually those bitten are fishermen handling nets, although only a quarter of those bitten are envenomated since the snake rarely injects much of its venom. National Geographic. As well as hanging about in no fewer than three different genera over the years – Atulia, Chitulia, and now Hydrophis – the faint-banded sea snake has had some of its original specimens tossed into other species entirely, namely the slender-necked (Hydrophis melanocephalus) and hook-nosed (Hydrophis/Enhydrina schistosa). However, how the venom was injected can make a difference. Where? The banded sea krait is a sea snake that lives on coral reefs in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans. “Venom Doc Bryan Grieg Fry experiences 26 snake bites and 23 broken bones in the name of science“. In Japan it is known as erabu umi hebi (ja:エラブウミヘビ), and in Okinawa as the irabu. Please post your images to our Thai Biodiversity Survey & Species ID group on Facebook. Sea snakes include 60 species of marine snakes from the cobra family (Elapidae).These reptiles fall into two groups: true sea snakes (subfamily Hydrophiinae) and sea kraits (subfamily Laticaudinae).The true sea snakes are most closely related to Australian cobras, while kraits are related to … Breathe easy, inland taipan. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. CSIRO Publishing. University of Adelaide. Especially around the Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea off northwest Australia. 2012. Your ”most venomous snake” crown is safe. If that wasn’t enough, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, it can expel up to 90% of its CO2 waste and bring in 33% of its oxygen needs through its skin, so it can stay submerged for hours. It is free to use this map on various media. The data is not necessarily accurate nor complete. It gets its common name from the dark, vertical bars (bands) that streak an otherwise white body. Black-banded sea kraits; However, you won’t find these snakes around Hawaii. ), Solomon Islands 2000. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Australia’s dangerous snakes: identification, biology and envenoming, Venom Doc Bryan Grieg Fry experiences 26 snake bites and 23 broken bones in the name of science, Boy asks paramedics ‘am I going to die?’ after often-deadly sea snake bite on Sunshine Coast, The Greenland Shark is as Dark as the Horse it Apparently Ate, Follow Coffee and Creatures on WordPress.com.