Laticauda frontalis (DE VIS, 1905)
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Higher Taxa | Elapidae (Laticaudinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Platurus frontalis DE VIS 1905: 48 Laticauda frontalis — COGGER 1987 Laticauda frontalis — COGGER & HEATWOLE 2006 Laticauda frontalis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 364 |
Distribution | Indian Ocean, restricted to Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia Type locality: New Guinea |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: QM J202 (Queensland Museum) |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis. A banded sea krait of the genus Laticauda characterized by the possession of a yellow upper lip. an undivided rostral scale, an almost invariate 21 mid-body scale rows in both sexes, fewer than 209 (males) and 212 (females) ventral scales, and a maximum snout -vent length (SVL) of 654 mm (males) and 783 mm (females). It can be distinguished from L. laticaudata and L. crockeri by its yellow upper lip (black in laticaudata and crockeri) and from L. semifasciata and L. schistorhyncha by its undivided rostral. From L. colubrina it may be distinguished by the following combination of characters: a lower modal mid-body scale row count of 21. lower ventral scale counts in both sexes (Table 1. Fig. 9), smaller size (Table 1) and. throughout the known area of sympatry, by the absence of a lower lateral connection between the black head band and the first black band on the neck (Fig. 2), and the failure of the dark body bands, at least anteriorly, to extend to the middle of the venter (Fig. 1). (Cogger & Heatwole 2006) Additional details (1857 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
Comment | Sympatry: Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905) is a dwarf species found in sympatry and syntopy with Laticauda colubrina in Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia. SHINE et al. (2002) show that L. colubrina and L. frontalis are sibling species that are reproductively isolated. Similar species: L. colubrina. Habitat: marine. Venomous! Distribution: See maps in Gherghel et al. 2016, Heatwole et al. 2017. |
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