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Laticauda semifasciata (REINWARDT, 1837)

IUCN Red List - Laticauda semifasciata - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaElapidae (Laticaudinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Chinese Sea Snake
Russian: Большой морской крайт
Chinese: 半环扁尾海蛇 
SynonymPlaturus semifasciatus REINWARDT in SCHLEGEL 1837: 516
Platurus fasciatus var. semifasciata — FISCHER 1856: 30
Platurus fasciatus var. — HALLOWELL 1861: 489
Laticauda semifasciata — STEJNEGER 1907: 409
Laticauda semifasciata — MERTENS 1930
Laticauda semifasciata — MAKI 1931
Laticauda semifasciata — WELCH 1994: 71
Pseudolaticauda semifasciata — KHARIN 2005
Laticauda semifasciata — RASMUSSEN et al. 2011
Laticauda semifasciata — WANG e al. 2013
Pseudolaticauda semifasciata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 592
Pseudolaticauda semifasciata — MILTO & LUKIN 2020 
DistributionSouth Chinese Sea (coasts of Fujian, Liaoning, Taiwan; China), South Korea,
Philippines, Japan (Ryukyu), Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippine and Moluccas Islands, West Pacific Ocean from Japan in the north to Samoa islands in the south. Found in Russia once: in waters of the Far East Maritime Reserve (the Sea of Japan's Peter the Great Bay; KHALIKOV, pers. comm.).

Type locality: Moluccas  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: RMNH 1468 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Ventrals 195 – 205. Subcaudals 38 – 43 pairs (males) and 32 – 36 pairs (females). 21 – 23 scale rows on neck and body. Number of body vertebrae 206 – 215, number of tail vertebrae 44 – 49. Snout-vent length 805 (males) and 1190 mm (females). Tail length 115 (males) and 115 mm (females). 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: STEJNEGER 1907 synonymized Platurus (Laticauda) schistorhynchus with Laticauda semifasciata.

Similar species: Hydrophis melanocephalus; has been confused with this species in Korean waters (Kim et al. 2016).

Habitat: marine.

Type species: Platurus semifasciatus REINWARDT in SCHLEGEL 1837: 516 is the type species of the genus Pseudolaticauda KHARIN 1984.

Distribution: See maps in Gherghel et al. 2016, Heatwole et al. 2017, Kishida et al. 2020. 
References
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