Description: The yellow-bellied sea snake is distinctively colored and shaped snake. The body is black dorsally and yellow ventrally and the paddle shaped tail is bright yellow with black spots or bars. Additionally, they lack the enlarged ventral scales characteristic of most snakes. Adults are between 600 and 1140 mm TL.
Biology: This is the only truly pelagic species of sea snake. Most individuals are observed between 1 and 20 km offshore (Savage, 2002) though they are probably capable of crossing much greater distances (i.e. the Pacific) as evidenced by individuals that show up in Hawaii. Yellow-bellied sea snakes are often observed in association with oceanic “drift-lines”, bands of floating debris, often several kilometers long, that are maintained for relatively long periods of time by wind and water currents. These drift lines attract a wide variety of fish that the snakes feed upon. Mating occurs at sea. This species is viviparous, juveniles are born live. Shedding is accomplished by the snake looping around itself and pulling the skin off. The venom of this species is a potent neurotoxin capable of seriously injuring or killing humans.
Distribution: This sea snake occurs throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In the early 1970’s a newspaper reported on an individual that had washed up on a beach in Saipan. (in Eldridge, 2003). This species has been found in Hawaii and it is conceivable that individuals may occasionally wind up in the waters surrounding the Mariana Islands.
Eldridge, L.G., 2003. The Marine reptiles and Mammals of Guam. Micronesica. 35-36 pp 653-660.
Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna Between Two Continents, Between Two Seas. University of Chicago Press, 934 pp.