Hydrophis peronii
Species of snake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hydrophis peronii, commonly known as the horned sea snake, Peron's sea snake, and the spiny-headed seasnake,[1] is a species of extremely venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to the western tropical Pacific Ocean.[4] It is the only sea snake with horns.[3] It is sometimes placed in its own genus Acalyptophis.
| Hydrophis peronii | |
|---|---|
| |
| By Ferdinando Sordelli in Jan & Sordelli, 1860 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrophiinae |
| Genus: | Hydrophis |
| Species: | H. peronii |
| Binomial name | |
| Hydrophis peronii (A.M.C. Duméril, 1853)[2] | |
| Synonyms | |
Etymology
The specific name, peronii, is in honor of François Péron, a French naturalist and explorer.[5]
Description
The spiny-headed seasnake is a medium-size snake, with the diameter of the neck only one third to two fifths the diameter of the thickest part of the body.[4] The head is small and the tail flattened laterally. The supraoculars are raised, and their free borders are pointed.[4] This species reaches a snout-vent length (SVL) of up to 1.23 m (4.0 ft).[6] Dorsally, it is grayish, pale olive, or tan, with dark crossbands, which are narrower than the spaces between them and taper to a point on the sides of the belly. Ventrally, it is uniform whitish or with a series of dark crossbars alternating with spots.[4]
Geographic range
H. peronii is found in the Gulf of Siam, Thailand,[7] Vietnam, the South China Sea, the coast of Guangdong and Strait of Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Coral Sea Islands, Papua New Guinea,[8] and Australia, (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, & possibly New South Wales).[6]
Habitat
The preferred habitats of H. peronii are seas with sandy beds and coral reefs.
Diet
Reproduction
H. peronii is a viviparous species that produces up to 10 live young per female.[6]