Hydrophis curtus
Hydrophis curtus, also known as Shaw's Sea Snake, short sea snake, but often includes Hydrophis hardwickii is a species of sea snake. Like most Hydrophiinae sea snakes, it is a viviparous, fully marine, and front fanged elapid that is highly venomous. It is collected for a variety of purposes including human and animal food, for medicinal purposes and for their skin.
Description
This species is characterized by a wide variation in number of ventral scales and degree of parietal scale fragmentation.Both sexes possess spiny scales along their bodies but males have more highly developed spines. This sexual dimorphism in spines may play a role in courtship or in locomotion by reducing drag.
Distribution
It is a widely distributed species and like most sea snakes is restricted to warmer, tropical waters.Its range includes:
- Persian Gulf
- Indian Ocean
- South China Sea
- Strait of Taiwan
- Indo-Australian Archipelago
- North Coast of Australia
- Philippines
- Pacific Ocean
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Cambodia and Singapore
Taxonomy
Originally considered to be two species of the genus Hydrophis: Hydrophis curtus and Hydrophis hardwickii. Gritis and Voris examined the morphological variation of over 1,400 specimens across its geographic range and concluded it is most likely a single species. As is convention, the species name reverts to the first description by Shaw in 1802. DNA and morphological analysis restored its phylogenic status as a single species.An analysis of the population in 2014 found strong evidence of deep divergence and genetic isolation across the geographical range, supporting a division of the species to Indian Ocean and West Pacific groups and high likelihood of cryptic taxa within those groups.