''Aipysurus foliosquama'', also known as the leaf-scaled sea snake, is a species of venomous

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

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 ...

. It was formerly endemic to the Ashmore and Cartier Islands of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, having thought to have become extinct there. In 2015, the snake was discovered in seagrass beds of

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

off

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 ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1926. The combination ''Smithohydrophis foliosquama'' (Kharin 1981) is recognised as a synonym.

Description

The recorded length is around 800 millimetres and coloration is purple brown. A poorly known species, the diet is known to consist of wrasse and gudgeon fish that are pursued through coral outcrops and crevices.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution range of the species has contracted since its first identification, and is currently known from a declining population inhabiting

on the western coast of Australia. The leaf-scaled sea snake prefers waters up to 10 metres in depth. In December 2015 a population of the snakes was found living in seagrass beds of

off

. Previously, its only known habitats were some 1,700 km away in the Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs in the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia. The sea contains a number of reefs, ...

, from where it had since disappeared.

Conservation status

The range of ''Aipysurus foliosquama'' has significantly decreased and population is significantly declining, the IUCN lists their status as data deficient. It is listed as one of

The World's 100 Most Threatened Species The World's 100 most threatened species is a compilation of the most threatened animals, plants, and fungi in the world. It was the result of a collaboration between over 8,000 scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Spe ...

References

External links

* foliosquama Snakes of Australia Critically endangered fauna of Australia Reptiles described in 1926 {{elapidae-stub