Acalyptophis

Acalyptus
by Ferdinando Sordelli in Jan & Sordelli, 1860
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Acalyptophis
Boulenger, 1869
Species: A. peronii
Binomial name
Acalyptophis peronii
(A.M.C. Duméril, 1853)[2]
Synonyms
  • Acalyptus Peronii
    A.M.C. Duméril, 1853
  • Acalyptus superciliosus vel Peroni
    A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron, & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
  • Acalyptus superciliosus
    — Fischer, 1856
  • Acalyptophis peronii
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Pseudodisteira horrida
    Kinghorn, 1926
  • Hydrophis peronii
    — Sanders et al., 2012[3]

Acalyptophis is a genus of sea snake, containing a single species, Acalyptophis peronii, commonly known as the spiny-headed seasnake, Peron's sea snake, or the horned sea snake,[1] endemic to the western tropical Pacific Ocean.[4] It is the only sea snake with spines on the head. Like other members of the family, Hydrophiidae or Elapidae, it is venomous.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, peronii, is in honor of François Péron, a French naturalist and explorer.[5]

Description

The spiny-headed seasnake is a medium-size snake, with the diameter of the neck only one third to two fifths the diameter of the thickest part of the body.[4] The head is small and the tail flattened laterally. The supraoculars are raised, and their free borders are pointed.[4] This species reaches a snout-vent length of little more than one meter (39 inches).[3][6] Dorsally, it is grayish, pale olive, or tan, with dark crossbands, which are narrower than the spaces between them and taper to a point on the sides of the belly. Ventrally, it is uniform whitish or with a series of dark crossbars alternating with spots.[4]

Geographic range

Acalyptophis peronii is found in the Gulf of Siam, Thailand,[7] Vietnam, the South China Sea, the coast of Guangdong and Strait of Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the Coral Sea Islands, Papua New Guinea,[8] and Australia, (North Territory, Queensland, West Australia, & possibly New South Wales).[6]

Habitat

It prefers seas with sandy beds and coral reefs.

Diet

Diet includes small fish.[6]

Reproduction

It is a viviparous species that produces up to 10 live young per female.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Lukoschek V, Rasmussen A, Sanders K, Lobo A, Courtney T (2010). "Acalyptophis peronii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Acalyptophis peronii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  3. 1 2 3 Hydrophis peronii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  4. 1 2 3 4 Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Acalyptophis peronii, pp. 269-270).
  5. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Acalyptophis peronii, p. 203).
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Acalyptophis peronii — Horned Seasnake". Species Profile and Threats Database. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberrra. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Cox MJ. 1991. The Snakes of Thailand and their Husbandry. Malabar, Florida: Krieger. 564 pp. ISBN 978-0894644375.
  8. ↑ Brongersma LD. 1956. Notes on New Guinean reptiles and amphibians V. Proceedings Nederlandse Akademe Wetenschappen 59C :599-610.

Further reading

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