Olive sea snakes have no teeth. When they bite, venom is released. This venom protects and helps them hunt. Touching a sea snake rarely harms humans. Handling a dead sea snake is safe if precautions are taken.
The olive sea snake is found in the Indo-Pacific. It has brownish and purple scales on top and white scales on its underside. It grows up to two meters long.
It feeds on fish, eggs and crustaceans. It uses venom to immobilize prey. Olive sea snakes swiftly pursue prey to bite and inject venom. They then wrap around the prey until it dies.
Olive sea snakes are not aggressive. Like most animals, they attack when threatened or trapped. They have been seen swimming near scuba divers, seemingly curious about the visitors. Where are they found? Off Australian and Papua New Guinea coasts in shallow, warm waters.
They can spend two hours underwater before surfacing to breathe. Like land snakes, they shed skin by rubbing against coral and rocks. This rids them of algae and barnacles.
When mating, male olive sea snakes form tangled balls to compete for female attention. This species has lungs to breathe air. It also absorbs oxygen through its skin, allowing it to stay submerged for long periods.
How long do olive sea snakes live for?
Olive sea snakes live up to 7 years. They can spend up to two hours underwater before surfacing to breathe. Like land snakes, olive sea snakes shed their skin by rubbing against coral to remove algae and other growths. This helps with growth and prevents barnacle attachment.
While few natural predators exist, prawn trawls pose a major threat, with 50% mortality from drowning or injury. Their paddle-shaped tails provide propulsion to swim. They have hollow fangs to inject potent venom that subdues fish and small marine life, their primary prey.
Mean temperature tolerance is 39-40 °C. They inhabit shallow waters 10-40 m deep, near land and islands, although they dive to 70 m. Growing up to 2 m long, their large mouths swallow prey whole.
They are ovoviviparous, birthing live young up to half the mother’s length. The banded sea krait in the Indian and Pacific Oceans is an exception, laying eggs on land. Although venomous, they rarely bite divers. 14 species inhabit the Great Barrier Reef, evolving from Australian land snakes 30 million years ago.
How do olive sea snakes hunt?
The olive sea snake hunts small to medium sized fishes and crabs. It prefers to hunt at night. Olive sea snakes approach divers inquisitively, especially at night.
The olive sea snake is a venomous sea snake. It is also known as the golden sea snake and olive-brown sea snake. This marine snake has brownish and purple scales on the top while its underside is white. It uses its paddle-shaped tail for swimming. The olive sea snake hunts fish.
Olive sea snakes encounter reef enthusiasts. They are found in places like the Great Barrier Reef. They rarely come to land. Their preferred depths are 10-40 meters. They like reef slopes and edges.
Olive sea snakes have slender bodies to navigate through water. They grow up to 2 meters long. Their coloration provides camouflage. They have a specialized lung to extract oxygen. They live in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The olive sea snake stays underwater for up to two hours. It has adapted to a marine lifestyle.
The olive sea snake is highly venomous. It is responsible for many sea snake bites and deaths each year. It is found in places like the Arabian Sea and Southeast Asia.
The olive sea snake blends into its underwater habitat. It showcases adaptations that have made it adept in the sea.
How much do olive sea snakes weigh?
The olive sea snake is a venomous snake found in the Indo-Pacific ocean. It lives along the northern coast of Australia and nearby islands. The olive sea snake inhabits coral reefs, rocky shores, and lagoons. Its main prey are fish, eggs, crabs, prawns and mollusks. This sea snake grabs its prey with its coils then injects venom. The olive sea snake typically lives 15 years. It gets trapped in fishing nets but is not actively hunted.
This sea snake has a slender, cylindrical body covered in smooth purple, brown and white scales. Its paddle-shaped tail aids swimming through water. Growing up to 2 meters long, the olive sea snake is the most venomous sea snake. Its painless bite contains fast-acting venom that paralyzes prey. First symptoms in humans are thirst, headache and vomiting within 30 minutes.
Olive sea snakes spend daylight hours hidden in coral crevices, emerging at night to hunt. Humans threaten them through prawn trawling, which kills up to 50%. Surviving snakes often suffer injuries. Olive sea snakes reproduce by live birth of 2-5 offspring. They inhabit shallow waters from 13-45 meters deep along coral reefs. These sea snakes have special adaptations like paddle tails and lung capacity allowing extended time underwater.