Reptiles
Banded Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina · Reptile, family Elapidae, subfamily Laticaudinae; an amphibious sea snake, also called the yellow-lipped sea krait
The banded sea krait commutes between worlds. It hunts eels in reef crevices on breath-holds that can pass half an hour, then hauls out on rocks and islets to digest, shed, drink fresh water, and lay eggs: a genuinely amphibious snake, paddle-tailed at one end and land-capable at the other. The venom is potently neurotoxic, and that fact sits beside another: unprovoked bites on divers are essentially unheard of. Kraits treat people as scenery, threading between fins and poking into holes mid-dive with total focus. The etiquette is correspondingly simple: never handle, never corner, and give a rising snake a clear lane to the surface, because it is on a breath just as you are. Females run far larger than males, and several look-alike kraits and true sea snakes share the range.
Onde e quando ver um
"Residente" significa que a maioria dos mergulhos naquele destino os encontra; "sazonal" significa presença confiável nos meses listados; qualquer outra coisa é um bônus, não um plano.
| Destino | Fiabilidade | Meses | Notas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sipadan & MabulMalaysia | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippines | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Banda Sea & AmbonIndonesia | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Bunaken & ManadoIndonesia | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano | |
| Beqa Lagoon & Pacific HarbourFiji | Resident: seen on most dives | Todo o ano |
Melhor mês, em resumo
Entendendo-os
Habitat: Coral reefs and adjacent shallows for hunting; rocks, islets, and shorelines for digesting, shedding, drinking, and egg-laying.
Distribuição: Eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from Sabah and the Philippines through Indonesia and New Guinea to Fiji and other Pacific islands.
Comportamento: A true amphibian commuter: forages underwater on breath-holds that can pass half an hour, then returns to land. Utterly indifferent to divers, often threading between fins mid-hunt.
Dieta: Eels above all, hunted deep in reef crevices; large females take bigger conger and moray prey than males.
Tamanho: normalmente cerca de 0.9 m; documentado até 1.5 m (total length; females run far larger than males).
Como se comportar perto de um
Give a hunting krait space to work and a rising one a clear lane to the surface: it is on a breath just as you are. Hands stay away, always.
Conservação
Listed Least Concern; localized pressure comes from coastal development of nesting shores and incidental capture in nets.
Pontos mapeados conhecidos por eles
Os locais destacados foram cartografados para esta espécie pelos nossos editores; os números são registos de ocorrência do GBIF num raio de cerca de 5 km do local desde 1990.
Assista
Dos canais oficiais
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
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