| Emydocephalus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Emydocephalus ijimae | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrophiinae |
| Genus: | Emydocephalus Krefft, 1869 [1] |
| Species | |
|
Three recognized species, see article. | |
Emydocephalus is a genus of sea snakes, also known as turtle-headed sea snakes, in the family Elapidae. The genus is one of a small group of the viviparous sea snakes (Hydrophiinae: Hydrophiini) with Aipysurus. Unlike most sea snakes, the species that make up Emydocephalus lack teeth on their dentary and palatine bones. They also lack venom, making them the only non-venomous elapids. The dentary and palantine bones bear only a row of papillae. Emydocephalus does, however, bear fangs and many small pterygoid teeth.[2] This reduced dentition is due to their diet consisting almost entirely of fish eggs. Due to their prey being small and immobile, they exhibit a foraging strategy different than most snakes, where they forage more frequently but consume smaller quantities.[3]
- ^ "Emydocephalus ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
- ^ Voris K., Harold (1966). "Fish Eggs as the Apparent Sole Food Item for a Genus of Sea Snake, Emydocephalus (Krefft)". The Ecological Society of America. 47 (1): 152–154. doi:10.2307/1935755. JSTOR 1935755 – via Wiley.
- ^ Shine, R.; Bonnet, X.; Elphick, M. J.; Barrott, E. G. (February 2004). "A novel foraging mode in snakes: browsing by the sea snake Emydocephalus annulatus (Serpentes, Hydrophiidae)". Functional Ecology. 18 (1): 16–24. doi:10.1046/j.0269-8463.2004.00803.x. ISSN 0269-8463.