New Caledonian sea krait
| New Caledonian sea krait | |
|---|---|
| File:Tricot rayé-2.jpg | |
| Laticauda saintgironsi | |
| Scientific classification Error creating thumbnail: | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Laticauda |
| Species: | L. saintgironsi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Laticauda saintgironsi | |
| File:Laticauda saintgironsi distribution (colored).png | |
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The New Caledonian sea krait (Laticauda saintgironsi) is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Laticaudinae of the family Elapidae. The species is native to the waters around New Caledonia.[1]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]The specific name, saintgironsi, is in honor of French herpetologist Hubert Saint Girons.[3]
Geographic range
[edit | edit source]L. saintgironsi is endemic to New Caledonia, including the Loyalty Islands.[4] It is very rarely found outside of its native range (one specimen was found in New Zealand in 1925), likely due to Laticauda species tending to spend time onshore or in shallow water, limiting their chance to encounter oceanic currents.[5]
Habitat
[edit | edit source]The natural habitats of L. saintgironsi are marine, intertidal, and supratidal, from a depth of 80 m (260 ft) to an altitude of 100 m (330 ft).[1]
Description
[edit | edit source]L. saintgironsi exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females growing larger than males. Maximum recorded snout-to-vent length (SVL) for a male is 81.7 cm (32.2 in). Maximum recorded SVL for a female is 109 cm (43 in). The upper lip is yellow or cream-colored, and the rostral scale is undivided.[2] Specimens can be identified by this yellow upper lip, which is present in both this species and the Yellow-lipped sea krait, and the presence of 21 rows of mid-body scales, compared to the yellow-lipped sea krait's 23 banded rows that meet ventrally.[5]
Diet
[edit | edit source]The diet of L. saintgironsi consists of non-spiny anguilliform fishes, with the lipspot moray Gymnothorax chilospilus representing about half of the prey.[6]
Parasites
[edit | edit source]Only a few parasites have been recorded for the New Caledonian sea krait, including camallanid nematodes.[7]
Reproduction
[edit | edit source]L. saintgironsi is oviparous.[8]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Cogger, Harold G.; Heatwole, Harold F. (2006). "Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905) and Laticauda saintgironsi n. sp. from Vanuatu and New Caledonia (Serpentes: Elapidae: Laticaudinae) – a new lineage of sea kraits?". Records of the Australian Museum 58: 245-256. (Laticauda saintgironsi, new species, pp. 249-254, Figures 3A & 3B).
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. (Laticauda saintgironsi, p. 231).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Open access icon
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Cite_Q/config at line 10: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Open access icon
- ^ Species Laticauda saintgironsi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
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