Hydrophis jerdonii (GRAY, 1849)
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Hydrophis jerdonii
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | Hydrophis jerdonii jerdonii (GRAY 1849) Hydrophis jerdonii siamensis (SMITH 1917) |
| Common Names | E: Saddle-backed sea snake, Jerdon's Sea Snake Chinese: 截吻海蛇 |
| Synonym | Kerilia Jerdonii GRAY 1849: 57 Hydrophis jerdonii — ANDERSON 1871: 190 Distira jerdonii BOULENGER 1896 Hydrophis jerdonii — BOULENGER 1912: 186 Kerilia jerdonii — WALL 1921: 386 Kerilia jerdonii — SMITH 1943: 447 Kerilia jerdoni — MURPHY, COX & VORIS 1999 Kerilia jerdonii — RASMUSSEN et al. 2011 Hydrophis jerdonii — SANDERS et al. 2012 Kerilia jerdonii — WALLACH et al. 2014: 353 Kerilia jerdonii — CHAN-ARD et al. 2015: 267 Hydrophis jerdonii — MONDAL et al. 2023 Kerilia jerdonii siamensis SMITH 1917 Hydrophis siamensis SMITH 1917: 341 Hydrophis torquatus siamensis — SMITH 1920 Kerilia jerdoni siamensis SMITH 1926: 32 Kerilia jerdonii siamensis — KHARIN 2005 Kerilia jerdonii siamensis — RASMUSSEN et al. 2011 Hydrophis jerdonii siamensis — SANDERS et al. 2012 (by implication) |
| Distribution | Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar (= Burma), Mergui Archipelago) Coast of Taiwan (China), South China Sea Bay of Bengal (to Sri Lanka Lanka) Along coasts of W Malaysia to Gulf of Thailand Gulf of Siam, Indonesia (Borneo) jerdoni: India, Sri Lanka, Andaman Sea, and from Strait of Malacca siamensis: Vietnam, from East Malaysia, Gulf of Thailand to China and Taiwan. Type locality: Madras, India |
| Reproduction | ovoviviparous |
| Types | Holotype: BMNH III.8.1.a Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.3.78, collected by M.A. Smith, 1917 [siamensis] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Body subcylindrical, nearly uniform diameter throughout; scales keeled and imbricate, in 17–23 longitudinal rows, 17 on neck, 21–23 (19–21 for the Bay of Bengal) at midbody; head short; pre-frontals usually not in contact with upper labials; 6 upper labials, 3–4 bordering eye; 1 pre- and 1 postocular; 1 large anterior temporal; ventrals 225–253 for the Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Siam (247–278 further east), small, distinct throughout, usually entire; olive above, yellowish or white below, with black dorsal spots of crossbars that form complete bands, especially in young. Total length 1000 mm, tail length 100 mm. [after LEVITON 2003] Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2918 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Venomous! History: Smith described siamensis twice as new; in 1917 as a species and in 1926 as subspecies (see synonymy). Subspecies: The status of the two subspecies is questioned by several authors (see Rasmussen & Andersen 1990) Type species: This species is the type species of the genus Kerilia Gray, 1849. Synonymy: Kerilia nests within Hydrophis and is thus synonymized (Sanders et al. 2012) Habitat: marine. Distribution: not in Singapore or not established there (Figueroa et al. 2023). Type species: Kerilia Jerdonii GRAY 1849: 57 is the type species of the genus Kerilia GRAY 1849. |
| Etymology | Named after Thomas Claverhill Jerdon (1811-1872), British physician, zoologist, and botanist who became an Assistant Surgeon in the East India Company. |
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