Aipysurus duboisii

Aipysurus duboisii, also known as the Dubois' sea snake or reef shallows sea snake, is a species of venomous sea snake. Its geographic range includes Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and the northern, eastern and western coastal areas of Australia, that is the Coral Sea, Arafura Sea, Timor Sea and Indian Ocean.[4] They live at depths up to 80 meters (262 feet) in coral reef flats, sandy and silty sediments which contain seaweed, invertebrates and corals or sponges that can serve as shelter. These snakes feed on moray eels and various fish that live on the seafloor, up to 110 cm (3.6 feet) in size. They are viviparous, giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs.[5][6] They have medium aggressiveness, i.e., will bite if provoked, but not spontaneously.[7] The fangs are 1.8 mm long, which are relatively short for a snake, and the venom yield is 0.43 mg.[8] Aipysurus duboisii is a crepuscular species, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk.[9]

Aipysurus duboisii

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Aipysurus
Species:
A. duboisii
Binomial name
Aipysurus duboisii

It is the most venomous sea snake, and one of the top three most venomous snakes in the world.[10][11][12]

Etymology

The specific name, duboisii, is in honor of Belgian naturalist Charles Frédéric Dubois.[13]

Description

Adults of A. duboisii grow up to 148 cm (4.86 feet) in total length (including tail) but usually to around 80 cm (2.6 feet). The head is slightly wider than the neck with nostrils on its upper part and nasals contacting each other. Eyes are separated from supralabial scales by a row of large subocular scales. Dorsal scales are usually smooth, but sometimes have a small keel or small knobs. Individuals vary significantly in color and its body patterns. The tail is relatively long; the chin and throat have lighter color than rest of the body.[5]

Venom

The acute toxicity of snake venom is conventionally tested on laboratory animals and is evaluated in terms of the median lethal dose (LD50), that is, the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population divided by the weight of the tested animal. The LD50 depends on the animal. Rabbits are about twice as sensitive to sea snake venom as mice, and fish and frogs are even more susceptible. The LD50 for subcutaneous injection of A. duboisii venom into mice is 0.044 mg/kg of body weight. This makes A. duboisii the most venomous sea snake tested, and the third most venomous snake overall, behind the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus, LD50=0.025 mg/kg) and the eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis, LD50=0.036 mg/kg).[8][10][11][12][14]

See also

References
  1. Lukoschek V, Guinea M, Milton D, Courtney T, Fletcher E (2010). "Aipysurus duboisii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T176748A7296594. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176748A7296594.en.
  2. Bavay A (1869). "Catalogue des Reptiles de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et descriptions d'espèces nouvelles ". Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Normandie 15:1-37. (Aipysurus duboisii, new species, p. 33). (in French).
  3. "Aipysurus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  4. Aipysurus duboisii — Dubois' Seasnake, Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
  5. Aipysurus duboisii Bavay, 1869, SeaLifeBase site: UBC - Canada
  6. Heatwole, p. 22.
  7. Heatwole, p. 121.
  8. Heatwole, p. 115.
  9. Heatwole, p. 40.
  10. Ernst, Carl H.; Zug, George R. (1996). Snakes in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. ISBN 1-56098-648-4.
  11. Fry, Bryan, Deputy Director, Australian Venom Research Unit, University of Melbourne (March 9, 2002). "Snakes Venom LD50 – list of the available data and sorted by route of injection ". venomdoc.com. (archived) Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  12. The Australian venom research unit (August 25, 2007). "Which snakes are the most venomous?" Archived 2014-06-26 at the Wayback Machine. University of Melbourne. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  13. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Aipysurus duboisi, p. 76).
  14. Gopalakrishnakone P (1994). Sea Snake Toxinology. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press. ISBN 9971-69-193-0. p. 98.

Bibliography
  • Heatwole, Harold (1999). Sea Snakes. Australian Natural History Series. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. 148 pp. ISBN 0-86840-776-3.
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