The gray-blue flat-tailed sea snake, whose Latin name is Laticauda colubrina, belongs to the genus Laticauda of the family Elapidae.
The blue-grey flat-tailed sea snake is a good swimmer and spends most of its time in the ocean, but it also spends 25 to 50% of its time on land to mate, lay eggs, digest food and shed its skin. In water, it uses its paddle-like tail to move back and forth to propel itself forward; on hard surfaces, it adopts a typical snake-like movement; when it encounters a loose substrate, such as dry sand, it will "wind sideways" like a desert snake. This species is mainly active at night or at dusk, and will periodically alternate from the shadow to the sun to regulate temperature. It has the ability to climb trees and has a tendency to move toward light. It locates and identifies prey by smell and feeds on small fish. Males mainly prey on moray eels, while females mainly prey on moray eels.
The gray-blue flat-tailed sea snake is an oviparous snake. Female snakes lay eggs among the rocks on the coast every year, and can lay about 4 to 20 eggs each time. The breeding cycle varies depending on the geographical location. For example, populations in places such as the Philippines can reproduce all year round, while populations in places such as Fiji and Sabah have seasonal reproduction characteristics, mainly concentrated in the three months from September to December. Female snakelets reach sexual maturity in 1.5 to 2.5 years, while male snakelets only need 1.5 years to reach sexual maturity
Listed in the 2010 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC)
Listed in the List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Beneficial or Important Economic and Scientific Research Values under State Protection issued and implemented by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000.
Listed in the second level of the List of National Key Protected Wildlife in China.
Protect wild animals and stop eating game.
Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!