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Monday, June 15, 2009

Hook-nosed sea snake

Hook nosed sea snake
Hook nosed sea snake by aviad_br

Beaked seasnake (Enhydrina schistosa, also known as the hook-nosed sea snake, the common sea snake, and the Valakadyn sea snake ) is a species of sea snake.

The rostral scale is longer than broad, and is in contact with four shields; frontal more long than broad, shorter than the parietals; nasals in contact with the two anterior labials; sometimes partially divided; one pre- and one or two postoculars; temporals l—3; seven or eight upper labials, fourth or third and fourth entering the eye, the last sometimes divided; anterior chin-shields rather indistinct, separated. Scales with a tubercle or keel, in 50—70 rows; ventrals 230—314, slightly enlarged. Uniformly dark grey above; sides and lower parts whitish. Young specimens olive or grey with black transverse bands, broadest in the middle. Length of head and body 1110 mm.; tail 190 mm.

The name valakadyn is from the Malayalam and Tamil word Vala kadiyan meaning net biter.

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