''Aipysurus eydouxii'', commonly known as the beaded sea snake, marbled seasnake, or spine-tailed seasnake, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea snake Sea snakes, or coral reef snakes, are elapid snakes that inhabit marine environments for most or all of their lives. They belong to two subfamilies, Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae. Hydrophiinae also includes Australasian terrestrial snakes, wher ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoceph ...

. This species of snake is unusual amongst sea snakes in that it feeds exclusively on fish eggs. As part of this unusual diet, this species has lost its fangs, and the venom glands are almost entirely atrophied.

Etymology

The specific name, ''eydouxii'', commemorates the French naturalist

Joseph Fortuné Théodore Eydoux Joseph Fortuné Théodore Eydoux (23 April 1802 – 6 July 1841) was a French naturalist. Biography Eydoux and Louis François Auguste Souleyet were surgeon naturalists on the expedition ship "La Favorite" which made a circumnavigation in 1830-32 ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Aipysurus eydouxii'', p. 87).

Geographic range

''A. eydouxii'' is found in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

, the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Description

Adults of ''A. eydouxii'' may attain a snout to vent length (SVL) of . The head shields are regular and symmetrical. The smooth

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The

ventrals In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

, which are distinct throughout the length of the body, range from 141 to 149; the

subcaudals In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

, from 27 to 30. Das I (2006). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Borneo''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (''Aipysurus eydouxii'', p. 65).

Habitat

''A. eydouxii'' inhabits shallow bays and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

Diet

''A. eydouxii'' eats the eggs of fish. Relative to other sea snakes, it has several derived characteristics related to its special diet. These include strong throat musculature, consolidation of lip scales, reduction and loss of teeth, greatly reduced body size, and (due to a dinucleotide deletion in the 3FTx gene) much reduced toxicity of the venom. Only one other species of sea snake, ''Emydocephalus annulatus'', shares ''A. eydouxii''’s eggs-only diet.

References

External links

Li M, Fry BG, Kini RM (2005). "Eggs-Only Diet: Its Implications for the Toxin Profile Changes and Ecology of the Marbled Sea Snake (''Aipysurus eydouxii'' )". ''Journal of Mol. Evo.'' 60: 81-89.Voris HK, Voris HH (1983). "Feeding strategies in marine snakes: an analysis of evolutionary, morphological, behavioral and ecological relationships". ''American Zool.'' 23: 411-425.Government of Australia- ''Aipysurus eydouxii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2828167 eydouxii Reptiles of Western Australia Reptiles described in 1849 Taxa named by John Edward Gray