Laticauda colubrina (Colubrine or yellow-lipped sea krait)
Luzon Island, Philippines
In this slightly closer view of a sand-covered sea krait, the forked tongue can be seen as it rapidly darts in and out. The eyes of a sea snake do not have eyelids, but are instead covered by a modified scale. The nostrils are visible, though special flaps keep out water. This one appears to have some remnants of skin beginning to peel from some of the forward black bands. Sea snakes shed their skin as often as every two weeks-- much more often than their land counterparts.
Jeffrey N. Jeffords (photographer; copyright holder; identification)
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To cite this page: Jeffords, J.2004. "sea_krait2.jpg" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 16, 2024 at https://animaldiversity.org/collections/contributors/jeffrey_jeffords/misc.inverts/sea_krait2/
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Grants DRL 0089283, DRL 0628151, DUE 0633095, DRL 0918590, and DUE 1122742. Additional support has come from the Marisla Foundation, UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Museum of Zoology, and Information and Technology Services.
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