THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A new species of sea snake, Hydrophis gracilis, has been spotted for the first time in Kerala at Perumathura in Thiruvananthapuram. With the new spotting, the total number of sea snake species in the state has become seven.
The sea snake was sighted during the yearly Water Bird Census carried out by Thiruvananthapuram-based NGO Warblers and Waders. The identity of the snake was confirmed by herpetologists Sandeep Das, Jafer Palot and Vivek Sharma.
“This is the first sighting of the snake in the state. At first, we thought that it was a hook-nosed sea snake. But it looked different and that made us reach out to the herpetologists. There had been reports of having spotted this snake earlier but no evidence was there till now,” says C Susanth, coordinator of the waterbird census.
He added that the finding points to the need to conserve marine wealth and initiate more studies to discover marine biodiversity. “Though it is one of the 26 species of marine snakes known to be on the Indian coastlines, it is relatively uncommon. It is reported from the Western coast of India. There are no records of sighting of this snake on the Kerala coast,” he added.
Commonly known as Graceful small-headed sea snake or Slender sea snake, this snake is dangerously venomous. Herpetologist Sandeep Das said that while it is highly venomous, the bites are uncommon. “Although there have been mentions of seeing this sea snake, there has been no evidence. This is the first photographic evidence. Maybe, the fishers must have seen it when they venture into the sea, but it hasn’t come to the notice of the scientific community,” said Sandeep.
Hydrophis gracilis is found in the coastal waters of the Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal, Persian Gulf and South China Sea. The distinguishing character of the snake is its small head, but comparatively larger abdomen, said Susanth.
Survey member Dhanush H L who spotted the sea snake said it could have been brought to the shore when the currents were high. “The sea snake was showing obvious signs of being disturbed. It was not used to be on the shore and was struggling to get back to the sea. We moved it back to the sea,” said Dhanush.
Meanwhile, Susanth saif the Water Bird Survey found an abysmally low number of shorebirds. In the survey which carried out from Veli to Perumathura, 47 birds could be spotted and only three species of shorebirds could be seen. This decline is worrying, said Susanth.