Banded Sea Krait By James

Banded Sea Krait Characteristics The banded sea krait is a sea snake that lives on coral reefs in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans. Its name comes from the dark bands on its white body. It is different from other sea snakes because the sea kraits spend more time on land.

Habitat They are most commonly found in shallow tropical marine environments, coral reefs , and mangrove swamps. On land they live on sandy beaches , coral islands , and sometimes on low hanging trees.

Physical characteristics / Size Sea kraits have a cylinder body shape and a paddle like tail. They are banded with 20 to 65 black bands. These bands extend from the neck to the tail. The bottom is usually lighter than the top. Males can reach 75 cm. Females can reach 128 cm.

Diet In the water they will mostly eat eels. Sometimes in the water they will eat small fish that they can trap. Females hunt where males cannot survive.

Behavior They will mostly go on land for about 10 days. They go on land at night to digest food, lay eggs, and slough skin. In breeding season the movement is more frequent.

Adaptation They live on land and water. They have large belly scales. When they are in the water, nasal valves and close fitting scales around the mouth act as seals to keep them from taking in water. They can spend 15 – 30 minutes to almost two hours.

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Works Cited www.aquariumofpacific.orgbanded_sea_krait http://oceana.org/marine-life/sea-turtles-reptiles/banded-sea-krait