Wildlifeof India
Yellow-lipped Sea Krait
Cobras, Kraits & Sea Snakes
Photo: Wang J.P. (iNaturalist) · CC BY 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Laticauda colubrina
Basic stats
Diet
Eels and small fish
Habitat
Hunts in the sea; returns to land to digest, rest and reproduce
Range
Eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from the east coast of India to Japan's Ryukyu Islands
Clutch size
Up to 10 eggs
Size
Males average about 87.5cm; females about 1.42m
The yellow-lipped sea krait, also called the banded sea krait, is a highly venomous snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific waters. It has distinctive black stripes, a yellow snout and a paddle-like tail for swimming, and the head is black with lateral nostrils. Females are much larger than males, averaging about 1.42 m against about 875 mm (Wikipedia, general species account).
It spends much of its time under water hunting eels and small fish with a very potent neurotoxic venom, but returns to land to digest, rest and reproduce. Females lay up to 10 eggs per clutch. Adult males are more active on land during mating and hunt in shallower water. In India the range is the eastern coast; the Reptile Database lists eastern India.
Quick answers
- What does the Yellow-lipped Sea Krait eat?
- Eels and small fish
- What habitat does the Yellow-lipped Sea Krait live in?
- Hunts in the sea; returns to land to digest, rest and reproduce
- Where is the Yellow-lipped Sea Krait found?
- Eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from the east coast of India to Japan's Ryukyu Islands
- How many eggs does the Yellow-lipped Sea Krait lay?
- Up to 10 eggs
- How big is the Yellow-lipped Sea Krait?
- Males average about 87.5cm; females about 1.42m