What is the Yellow-bellied Sea Snake?

About the Yellow-bellied Sea Snake:

• The Yellow-bellied Sea Snake is a highly venomous species of snake that belongs to the subfamily Hydrophiinae (the sea snakes).
• Scientific Name: Pelamis platurus
• Distribution:
  • This snake is considered the most widely-distributed snake in the world.
  • It is found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world.
  • It is found in tropical ocean waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including the coasts of Africa, Asia, Australia, Mexico, including Baja California, and Central America.
• Features:
  • Adult length averages 3 feet (0.9 metres). The snake has smooth scales and a sleekly shaped body.
  • It has a distinctive bicolor pattern with a yellow underbelly and brown back and a flattened yellowtail with large black spots.
  • It is a diurnal sea snake and primarily aquatic, living its entire life cycle at sea. 
  • This snake can spend up to 3 hours underwater without surfacing.
  • Adaptations to aquatic life include reduced ventral scale size, laterally compressed body and paddle-tail for swimming, valved nostrils and palatine seal for excluding seawater, and cutaneous gas exchange for prolonging dive times. 
  • This species can uptake up to 33% of its oxygen requirements through the skin while diving and swimming at the surface of the water.
  • They are carnivores (piscivores) and eat only fish.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern