Sea snakes are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and
are of two quite distinct types. There are aquatic sea snakes and amphibious
sea snakes. The former spend all their lives in the sea whereas the latter,
which are also known as sea kraits, can come ashore; they have wide scales on
their bellies that enable them to slither on land.
Aquatic sea snakes are viviparous, which means that they
give birth to live young. Amphibious sea snakes lay eggs on land.
Sea snakes are reptiles, which means that they have to come
to the surface to breathe, unlike fish. However, they are able to absorb a
certain amount of oxygen from the water they swallow. They also have valves on
their nostrils that close when they dive into deeper water.
Sea snakes feed on fish, eels and fish eggs. They are
extremely venomous (their venom is ten times as deadly as that of most land
snakes) and they use that venom to stun their prey before swallowing it whole.
The illustration is of a banded sea snake, which is one of
the amphibious breeds.
© John Welford
Picture credit: Julie Bedford. Licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence.
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