''Aipysurus laevis'' is a species of

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

sea snake Sea snakes, or coral reef snakes, are Elapidae, elapid snakes that inhabit Marine (ocean), marine environments for most or all of their lives. They belong to two subfamilies, Hydrophiinae and Sea krait, Laticaudinae. Hydrophiinae also includes ...

found in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. Its common names include golden sea snake, olive sea snake, and olive-brown sea snake.

Taxonomy

A species was first described by

Bernard Germain de Lacépède Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French natural history, naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's g ...

in 1804, assigning it to a new genus ''

Aipysurus ''Aipysurus'' is a genus of venomous snakes in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the Family (biology), family Elapidae. Member species of the genus are found in warm seas from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy The first description of ...

''. A name published by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

, ''Aipysurus jukesii'', is regarded as a synonym for this species. Currently, two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized, including the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

described below. The subspecies ''A. l. pooleorum'' has been elevated to full species status as ''A. pooleorum''.

Etymology

''Aipysurus'' derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''aipys'' "high and steep" and ''oura'' "tail"; the term loosely meaning "high tail" was coined to denote "the laterally compressed tail that is higher than the depth of the body". ''Laevis'', a variant form of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''levis'', means "smooth". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''pooleorum'' (masculine, genitive plural), is in honor of Australian fishermen "W. and W. Poole" who collected the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

Distribution and habitat

It is a common, widespread species that lives on

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s, including the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. It can be found in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, from Indonesia to New Caledonia. The snake hides in small coves or protective coral areas if not hunting or surfacing to breathe.

Description

The olive sea snake swims using a paddle-like tail. It has brownish and purple scales along the top of its body whilst its underside is a white color. It can grow up to a meter in length, and in some cases up to two meters.

Behavior

The snake feeds on crustaceans, fish, and fish eggs. It uses venom to incapacitate its prey. This venom is rich in enzymes that facilitate the internal breakdown of the prey, simplifying the digestion process. The venom also affects both the muscles and nerves of the prey. The snake usually hunts in coral reef areas, searching for food by poking its head into crevices. The creature usually stays away from open water as a hunting ground. ''Aipysurus laevis'' has been found to have photoreceptors in the skin of its tail, allowing it to detect light and presumably ensuring it is completely hidden, including its tail, inside coral holes during the day. While other species have not been tested, ''A. laevis'' possibly is not unique among sea snakes in this respect. Dermal light sensitivity is found in all the major animal phyla. While it can be aggressive towards prey, attacks on divers or larger animals are rare, though if provoked it will engage the attacker. The snake's main predators are sharks and

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

Reproduction

Males can reach sexual maturity in their third year, while females do not until their fourth or fifth year. Courtship usually involves a group of males vying for one female, which occurs in open water. At times, divers are approached by male sea snakes, possibly due to male sea snakes mistaking divers for female sea snakes.

Fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

is internal and

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

lasts for about nine months. Females can give birth up to five young at a time. In rare cases, there can be ten or eleven young at once. Life expectancy of the snake is about fifteen years, sometimes a bit longer.

Conservation

While there are not many natural threats to the ''Aipysurus laevis,'' man-made dangers do exist for it.

Prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the intern ...

trawls are one of the greatest threats for the creature, up to 50% of olive sea snakes caught in trawls are killed, while the ones that survive usually suffer injuries. Death from prawn trawls often comes either from drowning or being crushed. Fitting of turtle exclusion devices, which decrease the total weight of the trawl catch, increase survival of snakes, while

bycatch reduction device In the fishery business, a bycatch reduction device is a tool designed to minimize unintended capture of marine animals, to reduce the adverse effects of fishing on the ecosystem. Development To minimize accidental capture of marine animals, ...

s can exclude many sea snakes.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2715097 laevis Snakes of Australia Reptiles described in 1804 Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède