''Aipysurus mosaicus'' is a species of snake found in coastal seas of Australia. It is commonly known as the mosaic sea snake.

Taxonomy

''Aipysurus mosaicus''

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, Rasmussen, Elmberg, Mumpuni, Guinea, Blias, Lee & Fry was first described in 2012. The population had previously been identified as a geographically isolated group of ''

Aipysurus eydouxii ''Aipysurus eydouxii'', commonly known as the beaded sea snake, marbled seasnake, or spine-tailed seasnake, is a species of sea snake in the family Elapidae. This species of snake is unusual amongst sea snakes in that it feeds exclusively on fish ...

'', found near New Guinea and the Sunda shelf, but comparison of internal and external characters and examination of molecular evidence showed significant divergence in the phylogeny and supported the separation to a new species. Type specimen was collected near

Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly involv ...

in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Description

An oceanic egg-eating snake of the

elapid 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 ...

family, venomous predators found in seas and at terrestrial habitat.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution range of the species extends across coastal waters of northern Australia and New Guinea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10403853 Snakes of Australia mosaicus Snakes of New Guinea Reptiles described in 2012