Blue-lipped sea krait

The blue-lipped sea krait was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name Coluber laticaudatus. There are two subspecies, Laticauda laticaudata laticaudata and Laticauda laticaudata affinis. ==Description==

, Thailand. Ventral scales of this snake are large, one-third to more than one-half the width of the body; the nostrils are lateral; nasal scales are separated by internasals; 19 longitudinal rows of imbricate scales are found at midbody; no azygous prefrontal shield is present; rostral scales are undivided; ventrals number 225–243; subcaudals number 38–47 in males, females have 30–35 (ventral and subcaudal counts after Smith 1943:443). The upper lip is dark brown. Total length varies with sex: males are , females are ; tail lengths are similar: . ==Distribution and habitat==

This species is found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans: Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh, East India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand), coasts of Malay Peninsula to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, New Guinea, the Philippines, off the coasts of Fujian and Taiwan, Japan, Polynesia, Melanesia, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Australia (Queensland). Sea krait experience rapid temperature shifts when going from water to land. They'll often mitigate these effects by seeking shelter from direct sunlight. ==Special features==

This snake is known to warm up in wedge-tailed shearwater burrows. ==References==