Spine-Bellied Sea Snake

The spine-bellied sea snake is a small, thick-bodied marine elapid found throughout much of the Indo-Pacific. It is one of the sea snakes most often encountered by fishers because it readily takes bait and is caught incidentally in shrimp trawl nets.

It is fully aquatic, giving birth to live young at sea and rarely if ever coming ashore. Like all sea snakes it possesses potent neurotoxic venom used to subdue fish prey; it is generally regarded as a shy species that avoids confrontation with humans.

• Short, stocky body with a disproportionately small head
• Pale gray to olive-yellow ground color with darker gray-brown crossbands or blotches down the back, fading on the flanks
• Distinctive enlarged, keeled ventral (belly) scales, giving the underside a spiny texture, unlike smooth-bellied relatives
• Laterally compressed, paddle-shaped tail for swimming
• Small eyes with round pupils
• Adults typically 0.6-1.0 m

Inhabits shallow coastal waters, river mouths, muddy and sandy substrates, and continental shelf areas usually less than 30 m deep. Found from the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea across South and Southeast Asia to the coasts of northern Australia and southern China.

Active both day and night, spending most of its life submerged and surfacing periodically to breathe. Feeds mainly on small fish, including bottom-dwelling species, using ambush and active foraging strategies. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with females giving birth to live young in the water; litters typically number several offspring.