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Animal profile

Beaked Sea Snake

Hydrophis schistosus

ReptiliaShallow turbid coastal waters, estuaries and river mouths over soft bottomsLeast Concern

Field profile

The beaked sea snake is a fully aquatic elapid of muddy inshore waters, named for the downturned rostral projection on its snout. It feeds largely on catfish and pufferfish. It is the sea snake most often implicated in serious bites to fishers.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-04-23

Beaked Sea Snake

Sea snake bites mostly happen in fishing nets

Sea snakes almost never bite swimmers. The overwhelming majority of serious envenomations occur when a fisher sorts a catch by hand and a snake hauled up with the fish is handled, trodden on or unhooked.

Read with evidence →

Beaked Sea Snake | Daily Animal Facts