Yellow-lipped Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Elapidae, Subfamily: Laticaudinae, Genus: Laticauda, Species: colubrina
Southeastern Asia and the Indo-Pacific, including the waters of India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and various Pacific islands toward Australia.
Look up Yellow-lipped Sea Krait in the Snake Encyclopedia →Venomous Status
Highly Venomous - Proteroglyphous (fixed front fangs)
Danger Level
High Risk - Though generally extremely docile and reluctant to bite humans unless severely provoked or handled, their venom is lethal and a bite constitutes a medical emergency.
Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Elapidae, Subfamily: Laticaudinae, Genus: Laticauda, Species: colubrina
Conservation
Least Concern (IUCN), though local populations face threats from habitat destruction, coastal development, and the exotic leather trade.
Physical Description
Smooth-scaled body with alternating bands of black and bluish-grey or white. The head is small and blunt, often with a yellow snout/lip area. The tail is laterally compressed into a paddle-like shape for swimming.
Size & Dimensions
Average length of 75-100 cm, with females significantly larger than males, sometimes reaching up to 150 cm. This specimen appears to be mid-sized.
Habitat
Semiaquatic, residing in coral reefs, mangroves, and rocky shores. They frequent shallow coastal waters but must return to land to digest food, mate, and lay eggs.
Behavior & Temperament
Docile and slow-moving on land; agile when swimming. They are mainly nocturnal or crepuscular hunters. They often show little aggression toward swimmers or divers.
Diet & Feeding
Specialized carnivores focusing almost exclusively on eels. They use active foraging to hunt in crevices and venom to immobilize prey.
Reproduction
Oviparous (egg-laying). Unlike true sea snakes (Hydrophiinae), sea kraits must return to land to lay their eggs in beach crevices or caves.
Venom Profile
Highly potent neurotoxic venom that affects the neuromuscular system, potentially leading to respiratory failure.
Look-alikes
Often confused with true sea snakes (Hydrophis spp.) which are viviparous and never leave water, or the harmless Banded Snake Eel (Myrichthys colubrinus) which mimics the krait's pattern.
Conservation Status
Least Concern (IUCN), though local populations face threats from habitat destruction, coastal development, and the exotic leather trade.
Cultural Significance
Frequently featured in ecotourism (diving). In some Asian cultures, they are harvested for meat or skin. They play a vital role in regulating eel populations in reef ecosystems.
Notable Features
Features a paddle-like tail for swimming and valvular nostrils. It is one of the few snake species that is truly amphibious, possessing ventral scales that allow for land movement.