Laticauda colubrina ( Schneider, 1799 )

Karin, Benjamin R., Stubbs, Alexander L., Arifin, Umilaela, Bloch, Luke M., Ramadhan, G., Iskandar, Djoko T., Arida, Evy, Reilly, Sean B., Kusnadi, Agus & Mcguire, Jimmy A., 2018, The herpetofauna of the Kei Islands (Maluku, Indonesia): Comprehensive report on new and historical collections, biogeographic patterns, conservation concerns, and an annotated checklist of species from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, Tam, and Kur, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66, pp. 704-738 : 730-731

Laticauda colubrina ( Schneider, 1799)

(Fig. 33)

Type locality. Unknown.

Distribution in the Kei Islands. Presumably found on all of the Kei Islands, as it is a marine snake. We collected four specimens from Ohoililir Beach on Kei Kecil. The WAM expedition collected a single specimen on Kei Besar.

Natural history. Venomous. This marine species is partlyterrestrial and may be seen on beaches or beachside rocks at night when it comes ashore to lay eggs, sleep, and drink water. They are usually seen foraging around reefs during the day within a few hundred metres of shore. We encountered multiple sea snakes out of the water along the rocks at the northern section of Ohoililir beach at night and ALS has observed this species foraging in the reefs off Kei Kecil and Kur.

Fig. 33. Laticauda colubrina was collected on the beach as it came to shore at night on Kei Kecil.

Field identification. This species has 20–65 distinctly striped black crossbands on a blue-grey (more dorsally) to white (laterally) body; a black head with yellow snout and lips; a compressed paddle-like tail; scales smooth; 21–25 mid-body scale rows; 210–250 ventrals; 25–35 (females) or 36–50 (males) divided subcaudals; SVL to 1.4 m (mean 1 m) ( Cogger, 2014, p. 970)

Remarks. de Rooij (1917, p. 218) reported this species as the only known snake on Kur island (with no mention of the collector), however we obtained specimens representing several other snake species.