Yellow-bellied Sea Snake

The yellow-bellied sea snake is an extremely venomous snake of the sea snake subfamily, found in tropical oceanic waters around the world except the Atlantic. For many years it was placed in the genus Pelamis, but molecular evidence puts it in Hydrophis. Total length is up to 720 mm in males and 880 mm in females (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is fully adapted to living its whole life at sea: mating, feeding and giving birth to live young at sea, with a gestation of around six months. A preferred habitat for hunting and breeding is free-floating mats of kelp. It has been reported to survive severe dehydration for up to seven months during seasonal drought. The Reptile Database lists Gujarat, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.