바로가기메뉴

본문 바로가기 주메뉴 바로가기

logo

ISSN : 2287-8327

Article Contents

Next
e-Submission

Vol.40 No.1
Citation Share

Chinese sea snake (Laticauda semifasciata) misidentified as slender-necked sea snake in previous published account in Korea

Journal of Ecology and Environment / Journal of Ecology and Environment, (P)2287-8327; (E)2288-1220
2016, v.40 no.1, pp.1-4
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41610-016-0002-3


Robert H. Kaplan (Reed College)


Robert, H. K. , & (2016). Chinese sea snake (Laticauda semifasciata) misidentified as slender-necked sea snake in previous published account in Korea. Journal of Ecology and Environment, 40(1), 1-4, https://doi.org/10.1186/s41610-016-0002-3
  • Downloaded
  • Viewed
PDF Download

Abstract

Recent ocean warming near the Korean peninsula and our lack of knowledge of an important vertebrate group, the sea snakes, encouraged us to clarify this part of Korea’s regional fauna. We re-examined photographs that had been used to report the slender-necked sea snake (Hydrophis melanocephalus) in 1995. We discovered it was misidentified. To determine the correct identity of the sea snake, we studied 13 original photographs taken at the collecting site in Sooyoung Bay, Busan-si, in 1995 and determined the snake to be Laticauda semifasciata based on enlarged ventral scales, definitive for Laticaudinae sea snakes, and internasal scales, pale blue body color, divided rostral scale, and evident “V”-shaped stripes on the body trunk, definitive for L. semifasciata. Therefore, the snake caught 30 years ago in Korean waters should be considered the first record of a Laticaudinae sea snake in Korean waters. L. semifasciata is listed as near threatened setting the stage for urgently needed studies of sea snakes in Korea and supporting those currently underway.

keywords
Korea, Sea snake, Hydrophiinae, Laticaudinae, Laticauda semifasciata

Reference

1.

Dunson, WA (1975). The biology of sea snake. Baltimore: University Park Press.

2.

Goris, RC, & Maeda, N (2004). Guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Japan. Malabar: Krieger Publishing Company.

3.

Heatwole, H (1987). Sea snakes. Kensington: University of New South Wales Press.

4.

Heatwole, H, Busack, S, & Cogger, HG (2005). Geographic variation in sea kraits of the Laticauda colubrina complex (Serpentes: Elapidae: Hydrophiinae: Laticaudini). Herpetol Monog, 19, 1–136.

5.

Jung, S (2008). Spatial variability in long-term changes of climate and oceanographic conditions in Korea. Journal of Environmental Biology, 29, 519–529.

6.

Jung, S, Pang, IC, Lee, JH, Choi, I, & Cha, HK (2014). Latitudinal shifts in the distribution of exploited fishes in Korean waters during the last 30 years: a consequence of climate change. Rev Fish Biol Fisher, 24, 443–462.

7.

Kang, YS, & Yoon, IB (1975). Illustrated encyclopedia of fauna and flora of Korea. Vol. 17. Amphibia and reptilia. Seoul: Sam Hwa Press.

8.

Lane A, Gatus J. Laticauda semifasciata. In: The IUCN red list of threatened species.2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176721A7290432.en.Accessed 27 July 2015.

9.

Lee, JN, Kang, SH, Moon, SG, & Lee, IS (2003). On the reptiles of 8 species collected in Busan area—Caretta caretta, Clemmys japonica, Trachemys scripta elegans, Gekko japonicus, Eremias argus, Elaphe schrenckii, Dinodon rufozonatum, Hydrophis melanocephalus. Bull Basic Sci Res Cent Kyungsung Univ, 15, 153–160.

10.

Lee, HJ, Kim, IH, & Park, D (2013). Telephone inquiry and local interview on the observation of Korean sea snakes. Korean J Herpetol, 5, 45–52.

11.

Mao, SH, & Chen, BY (1980). Sea snakes of Taiwan: a natural history of sea snakes. Taipei: National Science Council.

12.

Rasmussen, AR (2001). Sea snakes. In K. E. Carpenter & V. H. Niem (Eds.), FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific (Body fishes Part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals, Vol. 6, pp. 3987–4008). Rome: FAO.

13.

Rasmussen AR, Elmberg J, Gravlund P, Ineich I. (2011a). Sea snakes (Serpentes subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) in Vietnam: a comprehensive checklist and an updated identification key. Zootaxa, 2894:1–20.

14.

Rasmussen AR, Murphy JC, Ompi M, Gibbons JW, Uetz P. Marine reptiles. PloSOne. 2011b. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027373.

15.

Sanders, KL, Lee, MSY, Bertozzi, T, & Rasmussen, AR (2013). Multilocus phylogeny and recent rapid radiation of the viviparous sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66, 575–591.

16.

Sanders, KL, Rasmussen, AR, & Guinea, ML (2014). High rates of hybridization reveal fragile reproductive barriers between endangered Australian sea snakes. Biological Conservation, 171, 200–208.

17.

Scanlon, JD, & Lee, MSY (2004). Phylogeny of Australasian venomous snakes (Colubroidea, Elapidae, Hydrophiinae) based on phenotypic and molecular evidence. Zoologica Scripta, 33, 335–366.

18.

Seo KS, Lee Y. A first assessment of invasive marine species on Chinese and Korean coasts. In: Rilov G, Crooks JA, editor. Biological invasions in marine ecosystems: ecological studies (Vol. 204). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag;2009. p. 577–85.

19.

Shannon, FA (1956). The reptiles and amphibians of Korea. Herpetologica, 12, 22–49.

20.

Slowinski, J. B., Knight, A., & Rooney, A. P. (1997). Inferring species trees from gene trees: a phylogenetic analysis of the Elapidae (Serpentes) based on the amino acid sequences of venom proteins. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 8, 349–362.

21.

Smith, MA (1926). Monograph of the sea snakes (Hydrophiidae). London: Oxford University Press.

22.

Song, SJ, Kim, W, & Hwang, UW (2010). First record of the family Cletopsyllidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from Korean waters, with description of a new species. Anim Cell Syst, 14, 351–360.

23.

Stejneger, L (1907). Herpetology of Japan and adjacent territory (Washington Government Printing Office: United States National Museum Bulletin, Vol. 58, pp. 313–315).

24.

Toriba, M (1994). Sea snakes of Japan. In P. Gopalakrishnakone (Ed.), Sea snake toxinology (pp. 206–211). Singapore: Singapore University Press.

25.

Won, HG (1971). Amphibian and reptiles of Chosun. Pyeongyang: Pyeongyang Printing Office.

26.

Zhao, EM, & Adler, K (1993). Herpetology of China. Oxford: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Journal of Ecology and Environment

e-Submission OA Policy