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Hydrophis parviceps SMITH, 1935

IUCN Red List - Hydrophis parviceps - Data Deficient, DD

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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymHydrophis parviceps SMITH 1935: 5
Hydrophis parviceps — SMITH 1943: 465
Hydrophis parviceps — TAYLOR 1963: 431
Hydrophis parviceps — WELCH 1994: 67
Hydrophis (Hydrophis) parviceps — KHARIN 2004
Hydrophis parviceps — RASMUSSEN et al. 2011
Hydrophis parviceps — WALLACH et al. 2014: 341 
DistributionSouth Chinese Sea (Vietnam)

Type locality: coast of Cochin China.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMUC 66182 
DiagnosisDiagnosis. Related to Hydrophis fasciatus atriceps, but scale rows reduced, 19 on neck, 33 on body; posterior scales strongly keeled, the keel extending nearly the whole length of the scale; ventrals 340-348. Description of species (from No. N 1620, Chulalongkorn University, taken in the South China Sea, lat. 10°17'N, long. 107°47' "under a light," 10 March 1960, by the SS Stranger).-Head very small, body elongate, very slender anteriorly, compressed posteriorly, its greatest diameter three to four times that of neck. Six maxillary teeth behind fangs. Rostral extending a little behind tip of snout, very broadly in view from above, angular posteriorly; nasals broadly in contact, the nostril lacking a suture to the labial; prefrontal broader than long, touching second supralabial; frontal not twice as long as wide, wider than supraocular, longer than its distance from rostral, shorter than parietal; four scales between upper posterior temporals behind the parietals; one preocular; one postocular, latter touching five scales; one large anterior temporal on one side barely touching labial border; secondary temporal undivided; supralabials five, third and fourth entering orbit, second largest; infralabials seven, three bordering first chin shields; no small scales on oral margin anterior to fifth; second pair of chin shields larger than first, the scales in contact for most of their length; seven scales between chin shields and first ventral. (Taylor 1963: 431)


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CommentVenomous!

Habitat: marine.

Diagnostic characters: Head small, body slender anteriorly. Scale rows around neck 19–21; scale rows around body 31–34; ventrals 329–348. Maxillary teeth behind fangs 6–. Colouration: Body olivaceous above, greyish below, with 65–0 blackish bands. Head black with no or only a few faint paler marks. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “parvus, -a, -um” = small, and caput, -ceps = head. 
References
  • Kharin V E 1984. Sea snakes of the genus Hydrophis sensu lato (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae) on taxonomic status of the New Guinea H. obscurus [in Russian]. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 63 (4) : 630-632
  • Kharin, V.E. 2004. Review of Sea Snakes of the genus Hydrophis sensu stricto (Serpentes: Hydrophiidae). Russian Journal of Marine Biology 30 (6): 387-394 - get paper here
  • Kharin, V.E. 2004. A review of sea snakes of the genus Hydrophis sensu stricto (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae). [in Russian]. Biologiya Morya (Vladivostok) 30 (6): 447-454 - get paper here
  • Nguyen, S.V., Ho, C.T. and Nguyen, T.Q. 2009. Herpetofauna of Vietnam. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 768 pp.
  • Rasmussen, Arne R.; Johan Elmberg, Kate L. Sanders, and Peter Gravlund 2012. Rediscovery of the Rare Sea Snake Hydrophis parviceps Smith 1935: Identification and Conservation Status. Copeia 2012 (2): 276-282. - 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
  • Smith, M.A. 1935. The Sea-Snakes (Hydrophiidae). Dana Rept. No. 8, Copenhagen: 1-6
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp.
  • Taylor, Edward H. 1963. New and rare oriental serpents. Copeia 1963 (2): 429-433 - 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.
 
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