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Emydocephalus annulatus KREFFT, 1869

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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Elapoidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Turtle-headed seasnake, Egg-eating Sea Snake 
SynonymEmydocephalus annulatus KREFFT 1869: 92
Emydocephalus tuberculatus KREFFT 1869: 93
Aipysurus chelonicephalus BAVAY 1869: 34
Aipysurus annulatus — BOULENGER 1896: 304
Emydocephalus annulatus — WALL 1909: 188
Emydocephalus annulatus — COGGER 1983: 246
Emydocephalus annulatus — WELCH 1994: 59
Emydocephalus annulatus — COGGER 2000: 708
Emydocephalus annulatus — RASMUSSEN et al. 2011
Emydocephalus szczerbaki DOTSENKO 2011 (fide NANKIVELL et al. 2020)
Emydocephalus annulatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 268
Emydocephalus annulatus — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 243 
DistributionIndonesian sea (Timor), New Caledonia, Vietnam, Philippines,
Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales)

Type locality: "probably the Australian Seas."

szczerbaki: Vietnam; Type locality: Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Vietnam  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesSyntypes: AMS (AM) R454, AM R6633
Holotype: AMS (AM) R455, from "probably the Australian Seas." [Emydocephalus tuberculatus].
Holotype: Marine Museum Brest, from Lifu (as Lifou), Loyalty Ils., New Caledonia, fide Smith (1926) [Aipysurus chelonicephalus].
Holotype: NMNHU (also as ZM NMNH) 27, Kiev, Ukraine [szczerbaki] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus). Maxillary bone shorter than ectopterygoid and extends forward beyond palatine; no maxillary teeth present following the very small venom fangs; nostrils superior; nasal scales in contact with one another dorsally; scales in dorsum of head large; second upper labial scale very elongate; scales on body imbricate, in 15–19 longitudinal rows at midbody (Leviton et al. 2014: 501)


Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. However, these details, e.g. detailed descriptions (about about .45 pages) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us if you need any of this material. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy mainly after COGGER 1983. BOULENGER (1908) synonymized E. ijimae with E. annulatus.

Distribution: Does not occur in Japan (T. HIKIDA, pers. comm.). Common around Ashmore Reef (Guinea & Whiting 2005).

Type species: Emydocephalus annulatus KREFFT 1869 is the type species of the genus Emydocephalus KREFFT 1869.

Habitat: marine.

Diet: Feeds only on fish eggs.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyNamed after the diminutive form (“annul-”) of Latin “anus” = ring.

Emydocephalus szczerbaki was named after Nikolai Nikolaevich Szczerbak (1927-1998), Ukrainian herpetologist who was arrested by the NKVD (Secret Police) and imprisoned in the Gulag (1948-1954). See Adler 1999 for more details.

The genus Emydocephalus was named after the common name "Tortoise-headed Sea Snake" provided by Krefft (1869), apparently based on the Greek Emys (turtle) plus kephale (head). 
References
  • Adler, Kraig 1999. Nikolai Nikolaevich Szczerbak (31 October 1927-27 January 1998). Gekko 1 (1): 36-37
  • Bauer, A. M. & SADLIER, R. A. 2000. The herpetofauna of New Caledonia. Contributions to Herpetology, 17; Society for Study Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, New York.
  • Bauer, Aaron M.;Vindum, Jens V. 1990. A checklist and key to the herpetofauna of New Caledonia, with remarks on biogeography. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 47 (2): 17-45 - get paper here
  • Bavay, A. 1869. Catalogue des Reptiles de las Nouvelle - Caledonie et description d'especes nouvelles. Memoires Societe Linniene de Normandie 15: 1-37
  • Berry P F 1986. Faunal surveys of the Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef and Seringapatam Reef, north western Australia. Part 8. Insects, reptiles, birds and seagrasses. Rec. West. Austr. Mus. Suppl. No. 25: 105-106 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1908. Note on the ophidian genus Emydocephalus. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) 1: 231 - get paper here
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  • 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
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