Hello
again, welcome back to animals under threat. Today, we will be covering a species
of sea snake that has become critically endangered due to climate change. Please
give a warm welcome to the Leaf-scaled Sea Snake (Aipysurus foliosquama).
The Leaf-scaled Sea Snake belongs to the Elapidae family
which is the family for venomous snakes such as Cobras, Kraits etc. This snake species
is characterized by their reddish brown/purplish dorsal surface with pale
cross-bands. The head of the snake has large scales which are symmetrical and
large overlapping scales which covers the body giving the scales the appearance
of leaves. Leaf-scaled Sea Snakes prefer to live in swallow waters and coral reefs
and can live groups or are solitary (Environment.gov, 2020).
Picture of Leaf-scaled
Sea Snake by Harold Cogger.
The diet of the Leaf-scaled Sea Snake is currently
unknown as many scientists continue to debate on the theory that it may eat
fish that live on the reef or other sea snakes (theconversation.com, 2020). There
are currently no publish studies about the reproduction rate or mating system
of this species making difficult to estimate the population size
(animaldiversity, 2020).
The Leaf-scaled Sea Snake is under threat due to climate
change and its impact on the snake’s habitat. Increasing temperatures has led
to coral bleaching which affect the snake’s ability to hide from predators and
prey leading to a decrease in the population from over predation and starvation
although this is still been debated by scientists (Lukoschek & Guinea, 2010).
Next time, we will be covering a species of salamander
nicknamed the “Mexican walking fish”.
References
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aipysurus_foliosquama/
retrieved 3/02/20
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1118
retrieved 3/02/20
Lukoschek, V. & Guinea, M. 2010. Aipysurus
foliosquama . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T176714A7288783.
http://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-sea-snakes-12054
retrieved 3/02/20
Picture references
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1118
retrieved 3/02/20
