Microcephalophis gracilis

Microcephalophis gracilis, Latin name of the small-headed sea snake, is a reptile of the genus Microcephalophis in the family Elapidae.

The small-headed sea snake lives in the ocean. It is ovoviviparous. It has a very small head and feeds on long small fish and fish eggs. The venom is stronger than other sea snakes.

Listed in the "List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value under State Protection" issued 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".

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It is distributed along the coasts of Fujian, Guangxi, Hainan and Guangdong in China; abroad it is distributed in the Persian Gulf and the Indian and Australian waters.

The head is very small, and the snout is much longer than the lower jaw; the front part of the body is very thin and cylindrical, and the back part is thick and flattened. The dorsal scales are smooth, the front part is long rhombus-shaped, and arranged in a shingle-like manner; the back part is hexagonal and arranged in a mosaic; the middle part has 29-33 (34-38) rows, and each scale has 2 or more rows of small tubercles, which are very strong in male snakes and weaker in female snakes; the ventral scales are small, complete in the front part, and divided into two in the back, arranged in parallel or staggered, and the ventral scales are slightly enlarged in the front part of the anus. The dorsal head and the front part of the body are black to dark olive, with white or yellow spots or stripes; the back part of the body is light gray to gray, with black rings, or the rings are gray on the back, and light gray on the sides and belly. The total length is 760-890mm.