You are here » home › advanced search › Hydrophis curtus

Hydrophis curtus (SHAW, 1802)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Hydrophis curtus?

Add your own observation of
Hydrophis curtus »

We have no photos, try to find some by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Shaw's Sea Snake, Short Sea Snake, Hardwicke’s Sea Snake, Spine-bellied Sea Snake
Farsi: Mâr-e daryâï-ye kutâh
Chinese: 平颏海蛇 
SynonymHydrus Curtus SHAW 1802: 502
Hydrophis pelamidoides SCHLEGEL 1837: 187
Lapemis curtus — GRAY 1842
Lapemis loreatus GRAY 1843: 46
Hydrophis pelamidoides — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 1345
Hydrophis (Pelamis) pelamidoides var. annulata FISCHER 1855
Hydrophis (Pelamis) pelamidoides — FISCHER 1856: 64
Hydrophis (Pelamis) pelamidoides var. annulata FISCHER 1856: 67
Hydrophis propinquus JAN 1859
Hydrophis abbreviatus JAN 1863: 109
Hydrophis brevis JAN 1863: 109
Hydrophis fayreriana ANDERSON 1871: 19
Hydrophis pelamoides HILGENDORF 1876: 31 (in error)
Hydrophis hardwickei — BOETTGER 1888: 150 (emendation)
Enhydris curtus — WERNER 1896
Enhydris curtus — BOULENGER 1896
Lapemis curtus — RASMUSSEN 1997
Lapemis curtus — MURPHY, COX & VORIS 1999
Lapemis curtus — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 532
Lapemis curtus — RASMUSSEN et al. 2011
Hydrophis curtus — SANDERS et al. 2012 [by implication]
Lapemis curtus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 362
Lapemis curtus — COGGER 2014: 813
Lapemis curtus — CHAN-ARD et al. 2015: 263
Lapemis curtus — MILTO & LUKIN 2020 
DistributionPersian Gulf (Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran)
Indian Ocean (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India: Kerala, Gujarat), Vietnam,
South China Sea north to the coasts of Fujian and Shandong
Strait of Taiwan, Bangladesh,
Indoaustralian Archipelago
North coast of Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)
Philippines (Panay etc.)
Pacific Ocean (Myanmar (= Burma), Thailand, Indonesia, China, New Guinea), Malaysia (Borneo: incl. Sabah, Sarawak)

Type locality: None given, but Shaw states that it is an "East-Indian species.").  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.17.59 (formerly BMNH III.2.1.a), "An East-Indian species".
Holotype: MCZ 20647 [abbreviatus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Scales in the lowermost three or four lateral rows are larger than the others. Scale rows around neck 23–35; scale rows around body 25–43. Ventrals small, 114–230, usually distinct anteriorly, very small or absent posteriorly. Maxillary teeth behind fangs 3–6. Colouration: Body greenish or yellowish above, whitish below, with dark greenish to black bands, which sometimes fuse longitudinally dorsally, narrowing laterally. However, in some specimens bands meet below, encircling the body. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: Voris and Gritis (1990) included Lapemis hardwickii Gray, 1834 in the synonymy of L. curtus Shaw, 1802. Remaining synonymy mainly after STEJNEGER 1907.

Distribution not yet corrected for resurrection of hardwickii from curtus. For a map see Sindaco et al. 2013. Records from Japan are doubtful and there are apparently no known voucher specimens (Ibuki Fukuyama, pers. comm., 8 Sep 2023)

Habitat: marine.

Genome: Ludington et al. 2023. 
EtymologyThe specific epithet curtus (Latin) means short or incomplete, possibly referring to the short overall body length. 
References
  • Anderson, J. 1871. A list of the reptilian accession to the Indian Museum, Calcutta, from 1865 to 1870, with a description of some new species. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Calcutta, 40, part 11(1): 12-39. - get paper here
  • Boettger, O. 1888. Materialien zur herptologischen Fauna von China. II. Ber. Offenbach. Ver. Naturk. 26-28: 53-176 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, Vol. 3. London (Taylor & Francis), xiv + 727 pp. - get paper here
  • Buzás, Balázs; Balázs Farkas, Eszter Gulyás & Csaba Géczy 2018. The sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) of Fujairah. Tribulus 26: 4-31
  • Carranza S, Xipell M, Tarroso P, Gardner A, Arnold EN, Robinson MD, et al. 2018. Diversity, distribution and conservation of the terrestrial reptiles of Oman (Sauropsida, Squamata). PLoS One 13 (2): e0190389 - get paper here
  • Carranza, Salvador; Johannes Els; Bernat Burriel-Carranza 2021. A field guide to the reptiles of Oman. Madrid : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 223 pp. [review in HR 53 (3): 531] - get paper here
  • Chan-ard, T., Parr, J.W.K. & Nabhitabhata, J. 2015. A field guide to the reptiles of Thailand. Oxford University Press, NY, 352 pp. [see book reviews by Pauwels & Grismer 2015 and Hikida 2015 for corrections] - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Corkill, N. L. and Cochrane, J. A. 1966. The snakes of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 62 (3): 475-506 (1965) - get paper here
  • Das, I. 2012. A Naturalist's Guide to the Snakes of South-East Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Oxford J, ohn Beaufoy Publishing - get paper here
  • de Silva, A., K. D. B. Ukuwela, A. Sivaruban & Kate L. Sanders 2011. Preliminary observations on the reproductive biology of six species of Sri Lankan sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae). Salamandra 47 (4): 193-198 - get paper here
  • Dela Cruz, C J P & Abuid, F G P; 2019. Geographic Distribution: Hydrophis curtus (Hardwicke’s Sea Snake) Philippines: Naro Island: Masbate Province: Municipality of Cawayan. Herpetological Review 50 (3): 529 - get paper here
  • Dowling, H.G., & Jenner, J.V. 1988. Snakes of Burma: checklist of reported species and bibliography. Smithsonian Herp. Inf. Serv. (76): 19 pp. - get paper here
  • Ferner, John W., Rafe M. Brown, Rogelio V. Sison and Robert S. Kennedy 2000. The amphibians and reptiles of Panay Island, Philippines. Asiatic Herpetological Research 9: 1-37 - get paper here
  • Fischer, J. G. 1855. Die Familie der Seeschlangen systematisch beschrieben von J.G. Fischer Dr., ordentl. Lehrer der Realschule des Johanneums. In: Zu der öffentlichen Prüfung, welche mit den Zöglingen der Realschule Dienstag und Mittwoch , den 25. und 26. September 1855 Hamburg Johann August Meissner, 68 pp.
  • Fischer, J.G. 1856. Die Familie der Seeschlangen. Abhandl. Nat. Ver. Hamburg 3: 1-78 - get paper here
  • Ganesh, S., Nandhini, T., Samuel, V., Sreeraj, C., Abhilash, K., Purvaja, R., & Ramesh, R. 2019. Marine snakes of Indian coasts: historical resume, systematic checklist, toxinology, status, and identification key. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 11(1), 13132-13150 - get paper here
  • Gardner, A.S. 2013. The amphibians and reptiles of Oman and the UAE. Edition Chimaira, 480 pp.
  • Gasperetti,J. 1988. Snakes of Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 9: 169-450
  • Grandison, A. G. C. 1978. Snakes of West Malaysia and Singapore. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 81 [1977]: 283-303 - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1843. Description of two new species of reptiles from the collection made during the voyages of H.M.S. Sulphur. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (1) 11: 46 - get paper here
  • Gritis, P. & H. K. VORIS 1990. Variability and significance of parietal and ventral scales in the marine snakes of the genus Lapemis (Serpentes: Hydrophiidae), with comments on the occurrence of spiny scales in the genus. Fieldiana Zool. n.s. (56): i-iii + 1-13. - get paper here
  • Grossmann,W. & Tillack,F. 2001. Bemerkungen zur Herpetofauna des Khao Lak, Phang Nga, thailändische Halbinsel. Teil II: Reptilia: Serpentes; Testudines; Diskussion. Sauria 23 (1): 25-40 - get paper here
  • Hilgendorf,F. 1876. Die japanischen Schlangen. Mitth. Deutsch. Ges. Ost-Asiens [I] (10): 29-34
  • Jan, G. 1863. Elenco Sistematico degli Ofidi descriti e disegnati per l'Iconografia Generale. Milano, A. Lombardi. vii + 143 pp. - get paper here
  • Jongbloed, M. 2000. Field Guide to the reptiles and amphibians of the UAE - Wild about reptiles. Barkers Trident Communications, 116 pp.
  • Kamali, Kamran 2020. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Iran. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (www.chimaira.de). 574 pp.
  • Kanishka D. B. Ukuwela, Anslem de Silva, Mumpuni, Bryan G. Fry and Kate L. Sanders 2014. Multilocus phylogeography of the sea snake Hydrophis curtus reveals historical vicariance and cryptic lineage diversity. Zoologica Scripta DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12070 - get paper here
  • Karthikeyan S. & Balasubramanian, T. 2007. Species diversity of Sea Snake (Hydrophiidae) distributed in the Coramantal Coast (East Coast of India). Int. J. Zool. res. 3 (3): 107-131
  • Kharin, V. E. 2006. An Annotated Checklist of Sea Snakes of Vietnam, with Notes on a New Record of the Yellow-Lipped Sea Krait, Laticauda colubrina (Schneider, 1799)(Laticaudidae, Hydrophiidae). Russian Journal of Marine Biology 32 (4): 223–228. - get paper here
  • Kharin, V.E. 2008. Biota of the Russian Waters of the Sea of Japan Vol. 7 - Reptilians [in English and Russian]. Vladivostok, Dalnauka, 170 pp.
  • Kharin, V.E. 2009. Redescription of a Russian Finding of the Erabu Sea Krait Pseudolaticauda semifasciata (Reinwardt in Schlegel, 1837), with Remarks about Species Composition of Sea Snakes (Serpentes: Laticaudidae, Hydrophiidae) in Russian and Adjacent Waters. Russian Journal of Marine Biology 35 (1): 8–14 - get paper here
  • Kharin, Vladimir E.; Jakob Hallermann 2009. Annotated catalogue of sea kraits (Laticaudidae) and sea snakes (Hydrophiidae) of the herpetological collection of the Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg. Mitt. hamb. zool. Mus. Inst. 106: 51-67
  • Kordi, M; N Shabanipour 2012. Morphological Characteristics of Short Sea Snake, Lapemis curtus (Shaw, 1802), with Notes on New Identification Characteristics. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics 8 (1) - get paper here
  • Leviton, A.E., R.M. Brown, and C.D. Siler. 2014. The dangerously venomous snakes of the Philippine Archipelago. in The Coral Triangle: The 2011 Hearst Biodiversity Philippine Expedition (G.C. Williams and T.M. Gosliner, eds.). California Academy of Sciences, USA, Pp 473–530
  • Leviton, Alan E.; Cameron D. Siler, Jeffrey L. Weinell, and Rafe M. Brown 2018. Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 64 (14): 399-568 - get paper here
  • Leviton,A.E.; Anderson,S.C.; Adler, K.; Minton,S.A. 1992. Handbook to Middle East Amphibians and Reptiles. SSAR, Oxford, Ohio (Contr. to Herpetol. No. 8), 1-252
  • Li, A., Wang, J., Sun, K., Wang, S., Zhao, X., Wang, T., ... & Lu, Y. 2021. Two reference-quality sea snake genomes reveal their divergent evolution of adaptive traits and venom systems. Molecular Biology and Evolution - get paper here
  • Lillywhite, Harvey B. 2014. How Snakes Work: Structure, Function and Behavior of the World's Snakes. Oxford University Press, New York, 256 pp
  • Lobo, A.S., K. Vasudevan & B. Pandav 2005. Trophic Ecology of Lapemis curtus (Hydrophiinae) along the Western Coast of India Copeia 2005 (3): 637-641. - get paper here
  • Ludington, A.J., Hammond, J.M., Breen, J. et al. 2023. New chromosome-scale genomes provide insights into marine adaptations of sea snakes (Hydrophis: Elapidae). BMC Biol 21, 284 (2023) - get paper here
  • Madawala, Majintha; Thilina D Surasinghe, Anslem De Silva, Dinesh Gabadage, Madhava Botejue, Indika Peabotuwage, Dushantha Kandambi, Suranjan Karunarathna 2019. Reappraisal of Herpetofauna Recorded from Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Sri Lanka with Remarks on Conservation, Diversity, and Distribution. Russ. J. Herpetol. 26 (5): 247-260 - get paper here
  • Milto, Konstantin D.; Yury A. Lukin 2020. A Revised Herpetofauna of Ujung Kulon National Park, West Java, Indonesia. Russian Journal of Herpetology 27 (6): 353-368 - get paper here
  • Murthy, T.S.N. 2010. The reptile fauna of India. B.R. Publishing, New Delhi, 332 pp.
  • Nguyen, S.V., Ho, C.T. and Nguyen, T.Q. 2009. Herpetofauna of Vietnam. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 768 pp.
  • Palot, M.J. 2015. A checklist of reptiles of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(13): 8010–8022 - get paper here
  • Patel, Harshil; and Raju Vyas 2019. Reptiles of Gujarat, India: Updated Checklist, Distribution, and Conservation Status. Herpetology Notes 12: 765-777 - get paper here
  • Peng, Changjun; Jin-Long Ren, Cao Deng, Dechun Jiang, Jichao Wang, Jiangyong Qu, Jiang Chang, Chaochao Yan, Ke Jiang, Robert W Murphy, Dong-Dong Wu, Jia-Tang Li 2020. The genome of Shaw’s sea snake (Hydrophis curtus) reveals secondary adaptation to its marine environment. Molecular Biology and Evolution,msaa043 - get paper here
  • Rajabizadeh, M. 2018. Snakes of Iran. [in Farsi] Tehran: Iranshenasi, 496 pp. [2017 ?] - get paper here
  • Rasmussen, A. R. & I. INEICH 2000. Sea snakes of New Caledonia and surrounding waters (Serpentes: Elapidae): first report on the occurence of Lapemis curtus and description of new species from the genus Hydrophis. Hamadryad 25 (2): 91-99 - get paper here
  • RASMUSSEN, ARNE REDSTED; JOHAN ELMBERG, PETER GRAVLUND & IVAN INEICH 2011. Sea snakes (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) in Vietnam: a comprehensive checklist and an updated identification key. Zootaxa 2894: 1–20 - get paper here
  • RASMUSSEN, ARNE REDSTED; KATE LAURA SANDERS, MICHAEL L. GUINEA & ANDREW P. AMEY 2014. Sea snakes in Australian waters (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae)—a review with an updated identification key. Zootaxa 3869 (4): 351–371 - get paper here
  • Rasmussen,A.R. 1997. Systematics of sea snakes: a critical review. In: Thorpe,R.S., Wüster,W. & Malhotra,A. (eds.) Venomous snakes - ecology, evolution and snakebite. Clarendon Press (Oxford)/Symp. zool. Soc. Lond. 70: 15-30 - get paper here
  • RASTEGAR-POUYANI, NASRULLAH; HAJI GHOLI KAMI, MEHDI RAJABZADEH, SOHEILA SHAFIEI AND STEVEN CLEMENT ANDERSON 2008. Annotated Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles of Iran. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics 4 (1): 7-30
  • Razzaque-Sarker, Mohammad Abdur; Kate L. Sanders, Kanishka D.B. Ukuwela, and Mohammad Firoj Jamam 2017. Sea Snakes of Bangladesh: A Preliminary Survey of Cox’s Bazar District With Notes on Diet, Reproduction, and Conservation Status. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 12 (2): 384–393. - get paper here
  • Rezaie-Atagholipour M, Ghezellou P, Hesni MA, Dakhteh SMH, Ahmadian H, Vidal N 2016. Sea snakes (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae) in their westernmost extent: an updated and illustrated checklist and key to the species in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. ZooKeys 622: 129–164, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.622.9939 - get paper here
  • Rezaie-Atagholipour, M. 2012. Lapemis curtus (short seasnake) diet. Herpetological Review 43: 494 - get paper here
  • Sanders, K.L.; Michael S.Y. Lee, Mumpuni, Terry Bertozzi, Arne R. Rasmussen 2012. Multilocus phylogeny and recent rapid radiation of the viviparous sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66 (3): 575-591 - get paper here
  • Schlegel, H. 1837. Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Descriptive. La Haye (J. Kips, J. HZ. et W. P. van Stockum), 606 S. + xvi - get paper here
  • Sharma, R. C. 1976. Records of the reptiles of Goa. Records Zool. Survey India 71 (1975): 149-167. - get paper here
  • Sharma, R. C. 2004. Handbook Indian Snakes. AKHIL BOOKS, New Delhi, 292 pp.
  • Shaw, G. 1802. General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol.3, part 2. G. Kearsley, Thomas Davison, London: 313-615 - get paper here
  • Shine, Richard; Claire Goiran, Catherine Shilton, Shai Meiri, Gregory P Brown 2019. The life aquatic: an association between habitat type and skin thickness in snakes. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, blz136 - get paper here
  • Sindaco, R.; Alberto Venchi & Cristina Grieco 2013. The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic, Volume 2: Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Snakes of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, with an Update to Volume 1. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), 543 pp. - get paper here
  • Somaweera, R. & N. Somaweera 2009. An overview of Sri Lankan Sea snakes with an annotated checklist and a field key. Taprobanica 1 (1): 43-54 - get paper here
  • Stuebing, R.B. & INGER, R.F. 1999. A field guide to the snakes of Borneo. Natural history Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, 254 pp. [corrections in HR 31: 124]. - get paper here
  • Stuebing, R.B., Inger, R.F. & Lardner, B. 2014. A field guide to the snakes of Borneo, second edition. Natural history Publications (Borneo)
  • Udyawer, Vinay; Mark Readb, Mark Hamann, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Michelle R. Heupel 2015. Effects of environmental variables on the movement and space use of coastal sea snakes over multiple temporal scales. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 473: 26–34; DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2015.07.011 - get paper here
  • Ukuwela, K.D.B., de Silva, A., Sivaruban, A. et al. 2022. Diversity, distribution, and natural history of the marine snakes of Sri Lanka. Marine Biodiversity 52, 24 (2022) - get paper here
  • Volsøe, H. 1939. The sea-snakes of the Iranian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Danish Scientific Investigation in Iran 1: 9-45
  • VORIS, HAROLD K. 2017. Diversity of Marine Snakes on Trawling Grounds in the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. Tropical Natural History 17 (2): 65–87 - get paper here
  • Vyas, Raju 2007. Present conservation scenario of reptile fauna in Gujarat State, India. Indian Forester, Oct 2007: 1381-1394 - get paper here
  • Wall, F. 1905. Notes on Snakes collected in Cannanore from 5th November 1903 to 5th August 1904. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 16: 292 - get paper here
  • Wall, F. 1918. Notes on a Collection of Sea Snakes from Madras. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 25: 599-607 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wang, C. G. M. Z. X., Jia, S. Y. K. T. L., & Hu, C. Z. J. 2022. An updated species checklist of amphibians and reptiles in Fujian Province, China. Biodiversity Science, 22090 - get paper here
  • Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here
  • Weinell, Jeffrey L.; Errol Hooper, Alan E. Leviton, Rafe M. Brown 2019. Illustrated Key to the Snakes of the Philippines. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (4) 66 (1): 1-49 - get paper here
  • Werner,F. 1896. Über eine Sammlung von Reptilien aus Persien, Mesopotamien und Arabien. Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 45: 13-22 [1895] - get paper here
  • Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004. Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp., reprinted 2007 - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Yaghmour, Fadi; Johannes Els, Clara Jimena Rodríguez-Zarate, Brendan Whittington-Jones 2023. Marine Reptiles of the United Arab Emirates. In: J. A. Burt (ed.), A Natural History of the Emirates. Springer, Cham, pp. 585-619 [2024] - get paper here
  • Zhao, E.M. 2006. The snakes of China [in Chinese]. Hefei, China, Anhui Sience & Technology Publ. House, Vol. I, 372 pp., Vol. II (color plates), 280 pp.
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator