Northern mangrove seasnake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Parahydrophis
Species:
P. mertoni
Binomial name
Parahydrophis mertoni
(Roux, 1910)
Synonyms[2]
  • Distira mertoni
    Roux, 1910
  • Hydrophis mertoni
    — de Rooij, 1917
  • Parahydrophis mertoni
    — Burger & Natsuno, 1974

The northern mangrove seasnake (Parahydrophis mertoni), also known commonly as the Arafura smooth seasnake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia and New Guinea.

Etymology

The specific name, mertoni, is in honor of German zoologist Hugo Merton.[3]

Geographic range

Parahydrophis mertoni is found in Northern Australia[4] in Northern Territory and Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea in the Arafura Sea.[2]

Description

Parahydrophis mertoni is blackish-olive with about 46 yellow rings on the body and ten on the tail. The head shields are spotted with yellow, except for the rostral and labials which are black.[5]

Reproduction

Parahydrophis mertoni is viviparous.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Guinea M, Lukoschek V, Milton D, Courtney T (2010). "Parahydrophis mertoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T176772A7301678. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176772A7301678.en. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Species Parahydrophis mertoni at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ↑ 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. (Parahtdrophis mertoni, p. 177).
  4. ↑ Australian Biological Resources Study (26 August 2013). "Species Parahydrophis mertoni (Roux, 1910)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  5. ↑ de Rooij N (1917). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. II. Ophidia. Leiden: E.J. Brill. xiv + 334 pp., 117 Figures. (Hydrophis mertoni, new combination, p. 233).

Further reading

  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Roux J (1910). "Reptilien und Amphibien der Aru- und Kei-Inseln ". Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 33: 211-247. (Distira mertoni, new species, p. 222 + Plate 13, figures 4 & 4a). (in German).
  • Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.
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