Between 1998 and 2000, the last specimens of short-nosed sea snakes, Aipysurus apraefrontalis , disappeared from their habitat in northwestern Australia. Since then, nothing has been known about these small poisonous aquatic reptiles, which are around two feet long . Now, a team of researchers from James Cook University has identified two specimens on the Ningaloo reef, off the west coast of Australia.
According to the ecologist Blanche D’Anastasi, from the ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, at the aforementioned university, which coordinated the study, some images of these animals obtained in 2013 by a member of the Parks and Wildlife Department from Western Australia show that they were immersed in a courtship ritual, which suggests that they are part of a population with reproductive capacity.
In an essay published in the journal Biological Conservation , D’Anastasi and his colleagues have also announced the discovery of sixteen specimens of another critically endangered species of sea snake , the scaly-skinned sea snake, Aipysurus foliosquama . The specimens appeared in Shark Bay, 1,700 kilometers from the Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, the only place where they had been observed to date.
These reptiles can reach 90 centimeters and, although they are not particularly aggressive, they inoculate their victims with a paralyzing venom. “It has been a real surprise to locate both species . In order to protect them, we need to better understand their biology and populations, as well as the dangers they face and what has led them to abandon their habitats,” says D’Anastasi.
Image: Grant Griffin / WA Parks / Wildlife Service
