Hydrophis inornatus
| Hydrophis inornatus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae[1] |
| Subfamily: | Hydrophiinae |
| Genus: | Hydrophis |
| Species: | H. inornatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Hydrophis inornatus (Gray, 1849) | |
| Synonyms | |
Hydrophis inornatus, commonly known as the plain sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake in the family Elapidae.[1]
Distribution
South China Sea (Philippines: Panay, etc.), Sri Lanka, Australia (North Territory, West Australia?).
Description
Hydrophis inornatus is bluish gray dorsally. The lips, lower sides, and venter are white. The tail is dark bluish gray, with three or four narrow white crossbands.
Head elongate, snout somewhat flattened. Eye large, located above the fourth upper labial. Pupil round. Neck moderately thick.
Dorsal scales hexagonal, with a central keel.[3]
Ventrals distinct, but only slightly larger than the contiguous scales. The type specimen, a male, has 240 ventrals.[4]
References
- 1 2 "Hydrophis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
- ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Gray, J.E. 1849. Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. Trustees of the British Museum. London. xv + 125 pp. (Chitulia inornata, p. 56.)
- ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. p. 290.
Further reading
- McDowell, S.B. 1972. The genera of sea-snakes of the Hydrophis group (Serpentes: Elapidae). Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond 32: 189-247.
- Rasmussen, A.R. 1989. An analysis of Hydrophis ornatus (Gray), H. lamberti Smith, and H. inornatus (Gray) (Hydrophiidae, Serpentes) based on samples from various localities, with remarks on feeding and breeding biology of H. ornatus. Amphibia-Reptilia 10: 397-417.
- Rasmussen, A.R. 1994. A cladistic analysis of Hydrophis subgenus Chitulia (McDowell, 1972) (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae). Zoological Journal 111 (2): 161.
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