Hydrophis melanocephalus Gray, 1849

Rasmussen, Arne Redsted, Sanders, Kate Laura, Guinea, Michael L. & Amey, Andrew P., 2014, Sea snakes in Australian waters (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) - a review with an updated identification key, Zootaxa 3869 (4), pp. 351-371 : 354

Hydrophis melanocephalus Gray, 1849 .

This species is first mentioned by McDowell (1972) and later by Cogger (1975) and Minton (1975), from the Australian region. Kharin (1984a) re-described the Australian specimens referred by McDowell to H. melanocephalus and created a new species, H. coggeri ( Kharin, 1984a) . Hydrophis coggeri was accepted as a valid species occurring in the Australian and Southeast Asian regions to Fiji ( Cogger, 1992; Heatwole & Cogger, 1994a; Ineich, 2007; Sanders, Lee, et al., 2013; Wilson & Swan, 2010). The distribution of H. melanocephalus is recorded as the following: Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Sulawesi ( David & Ineich, 1999; Rasmussen, Elmberg, et al., 2011; Sanders, Rasmussen, et al., 2013). We have not found any specimens or other evidence to confirm H. melanocephalus in Australian waters. We therefore include this species neither in the checklist nor in the list of possible Australian sea snakes and regard all the Australian specimens referred to H. melanocephalus as belonging to the taxon H. coggeri .