Description
Also known as Amphibious Sea Snake, Amphibious Snake, Banded Sea Krait, Banded Sea Snake, Banded Yellow-lip Sea Snake, Colubrine Sea Krait, Colubrine Sea Snake, Sea Krait, Snake Eel, Yellow-lipped Sea Snake.
Found resting in rocky crevices near the waters edge, or swimming freely while foraging for food, around coral islands, mangroves, fringing reefs, and in the open ocean, after which they go back to the land to digest their food. On land they seek shelter in caves, crevices, and under rocks.
They feed on eels and small fish.
Length - 70cm
Depth - Land-40m
Widespread Atlantic, Indo-Pacific
Although venomous these sea snakes have such small mouths they are not really a danger to divers.
Sea snakes have a slat excreting gland under their tongues which helps to avoid excess salt accumulation. They also shed their skin every two to six weeks, more frequently than land snakes. they do this by rubbing their lips against coral or other hard substrate to loosen the skin which is then anchored to the substrate as the snake slowly crawls forward, leaving the skin inside out and left behind. By shedding their skin sea snakes rid themselves of organisms such as algae, barnacles and bryozoans. (Heatwole 1999). Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-lipped_sea_krait
2 comments
Posted by @fishx6Yes more than likely, the are found in the Eastern Indian Ocean which would be Ningaloo and I think I have seen them there as well!
Posted by Jaxson marshWe saw something exactly like this today while snorkeling at Coral Bay,(Ningaloo Reef) Western Australia... Although the map doesn't indicate they are found here?? Did we see the famous Banded Sea Krait??