Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake

            Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes live in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Sometimes currents carry them into temperate waters but those are far from there feeding and breeding grounds. They have also been in Russia and Tasmania which makes them the snake with the world’s largest range. They have also been known to wash up on beaches in Australia due to Storms and onshore winds. When they are found like this they are usually in a bad condition.

            Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes only meal is fish. That means they are a Piscivore. It hunts stealthily, sneaking upon its prey. Another tactic, is they lay motionless at the surface. Fish come up looking for shelter underneath it. Fish often do this under floating debris like logs. They have their mouth open and swipe to the side to catch any unlucky fish. If fish are behind its head, it can swim backwards to catch it. In captivity they sometimes eat frogs though that is not in their diet. Frogs were once in their diet millions of years ago. Sometimes in captivity they lunge and bite at other snakes in the tank. They also can catch food if its dangled above the water by lunging up and grabbing it out of the air.

            The Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake does not have many predators. There potential predators are marine mammals, sea birds, and large fish. There yellow bellies serve as a warning to any predators. They are toxic to ingest so any predators who eat them will then know not to in the future. If they are tricked to in captivity, they will regurgitate it afterward.

            People are not likely to see a Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake unless a injured or sick animal drifts ashore. If this snake is roughly handled it is probably going to bite. There fangs are only 1.5 millimeters long, there venom is highly toxic and contains mycotoxins and neurotoxins. Some symptoms are paralysis, muscle pain, stiffness drooping eyelids, drowsiness, vomiting, and death:).

            Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes have the biggest range of any snake in the world. They also never have to go on land or the sea floor. There scientific name is Pelamis platura. Their body has black on top and yellow on the bottom. Their tail is yellow with black spots. Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes do not lay eggs. The Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes lifespan is around 3.5 years.

All facts and Research used in this report is from the Australian museum located here, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/yellow-bellied-sea-snake/.