Species Hydrophis elegans (Gray, 1842)
Elegant Sea Snake
- Aturia elegans Gray, J.E. 1842. Monographic synopsis of the water snakes, or the family Hydridae. pp. 59-68 in Gray, J.E. (ed.). The Zoological Miscellany. London : Treuttel, Würz & Co. [61].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 1946.1.3.89, Port Essington, NT. - Distira grandis Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xiv 727 pp. 25 pls. [293].
Type data:
Syntype(s) BMNH 1946.1.17.10–11, Malay Archipelago and QLD; BMNH 70.11.30.71, QLD.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Smith, M.A. 1926. Monograph on the Sea Snakes. (Hydrophiidae). London : British Museum xvii 130 pp.
- Cogger, H.G., in Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E. & Cogger, H.M. 1983. Amphibia and Reptilia. 313 pp. in Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1 vi + 313 pp. [250]
Generic Combinations
- Hydrophis elegans (Gray, 1842).
- Leioselasma elegans (Gray, 1842). —
Kharin, V.E. 1984. A review of sea snakes of the group Hydrophis sensu lato (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae). 3. The genus Leioselasma. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 63(10): 1535-1546
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Water off north coast of Australia (Arafura Sea, Coral Sea, Timor Sea) further south in late summer; also southern New Guinea
IMCRA
Timor Transition (1), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41), Central Western Transition (5)
Other Regions
Coral Sea Islands Territory, Territory of Ashmore & Cartier Islands, Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater
Ecological Descriptors
Aquatic, continental shelf, coral reef, diurnal, inshore, nektonic, piscivore, predator.
Extra Ecological Information
Perennially active, viviparous.
General References
Cogger, H.G. 1975. The sea snakes of Australia and New Guinea. pp. 59-139 in Dunson, W. (ed.). The Biology of Sea Snakes. Baltimore : University Park Press. (taxonomy)
Heatwole, H. 1981. Temperature relations of some sea snakes. The Snake 13: 53-57 (thermoregulation)
McDowell, S.B. 1972. The genera of sea-snakes of the Hydrophis group (Serpentes: Elapidae). Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 32: 189-247 (taxonomy)
Seymour, R.S. & Webster, M.E.D. 1975. Gas transport and blood acid-base balance in diving sea snakes. Journal of Experimental Zoology 191: 169-182 (diving physiology)
Smith, M.A. 1926. Monograph on the Sea Snakes. (Hydrophiidae). London : British Museum xvii 130 pp. (taxonomy)
Common Name References
Clayton, M., Wombey, J.C., Mason, I.J., Chesser, R.T. & Wells, A. 2006. CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates: A Reference with Conservation Status. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing iv 162 pp. [46] (Elegant Sea Snake)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04-Feb-2023 | ELAPIDAE Boie, 1827 | 31-Oct-2023 | MODIFIED | |
| 07-Feb-2024 | 22-Jul-2013 | MOVED | ||
| 07-Feb-2024 | 05-Jun-2012 | MOVED | ||
| 08-Mar-2011 | 08-Mar-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |