The black-banded sea krait (''Laticauda semifasciata''), also known commonly as the Chinese sea snake or erabu, 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 ...

venomous snake Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...

in the subfamily

Laticaudinae Sea kraits are a genus of venomous elapid sea snakes (subfamily: Laticaudinae), ''Laticauda''. They are semiaquatic, and retain the wide ventral scales typical of terrestrial snakes for moving on land, but also have paddle-shaped tails for swimmi ...

of the

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

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 Emydoce ...

. In Japan it is known as ''erabu umi hebi'' ( :ja:エラブウミヘビ), and in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

as the ''irabu''. It is found in much of the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. This sea snake frequents

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 groups. C ...

areas. It has a short head, thick trunk, and no easily discernible neck. The tail is simply extended skin, spread wide like a fin, and unsupported by any bony projections from the vertebral column. The stomach is comparatively wide. Massing together near the shore, it breeds between narrow cracks in the reef and in caves. It is a nocturnal snake, rarely seen during the day. It breathes air; so it breaks the surface at least once every six hours. Too slow to chase fish in open water, it hunts for fish by hiding in the coral reefs. Alternately, the black-banded sea krait is known to form hunting alliances with

bluefin trevally The bluefin trevally (''Caranx melampygus''), also known as the bluefin jack, bluefin kingfish, bluefinned crevalle, blue ulua, omilu, and spotted trevally), is a species of large, widely distributed marine fish classified in the jack family, Ca ...

, flushing potential prey from narrow crannies in a reef the same way some moray eels do. The bite is highly venomous and paralyzes the prey. Females lay their eggs on land. Generally, the species is found in

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and Indonesia. Its venom is ten times stronger than that of a cobra. The snake does not attack humans unless it feels threatened or provoked. The erabu snake is a winter staple in southern Japan, where it is believed to replenish a female's womanhood. Irabu soup ''irabu-jiru'' ( :ja:イラブー汁) is said to taste like miso and a bit like tuna. This soup was a part of the royal court cuisine of

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

; it is thought to have

analeptic An analeptic, in medicine, is a central nervous system stimulant. The term "analeptic" typically refers to respiratory analeptics (for example, doxapram). Analeptics are central nervous system (CNS) stimulants that include a wide variety of medica ...

properties.

Development

Males and females of the black-banded sea krait reach sexual maturity at snout-vent lengths (SVL) of , respectively. Females lay 3–7 eggs that hatch after 4–5 months. ''L. semifasciata'' can reach a total length (including tail) of .

Location

The black-banded sea krait can be found in the warm waters of the western Pacific Ocean. However, researchers have recently found ''L. semifasciata'' in the waters surrounding southern

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. This area is located outside its "typical distribution range (Japan, China including

and

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 ...

)."Park J, Kim I-H, Fong JJ, Koo K-S, Choi W-J, Tsai T-S, et al. (2017). "Northward dispersal of sea kraits (''Laticauda semifasciata'') beyond their typical range". ''PLoS ONE'' 12 (6): e0179871. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179871 The same researchers state that the black-banded sea krait has been dispersing northward from its typical distribution range due to climate change which has caused deterioration of its habitat.

Development

Location

References

Further reading