Timor reef snake

Timor reef snake
Systematics
Subordination :	Snakes (serpentes)
Superfamily :	Adder-like and viper-like (Colubroidea)
Family :	Poison Snakes (Elapidae)
Subfamily :	Sea snakes (Hydrophiinae)
Genre :	Aipysurus
Type :	Timor reef snake
Scientific name
	Aipysurus fuscus
	( Tschudi , 1837)

The Timor reef snake ( Aipysurus fuscus ), also reef sea snake , is one of the sea snakes within the family of poisonous snakes (Elapidae) . It occurs in the waters around Timor . In the north it is found in Sulawesi , in the south the coast of northwest Australia , in the east the Tanimbar Islands and in the west Sumba . There it lives in reefs that are populated with corals. The Timor reef snake reaches a length of 90 centimeters. There are six to eight other teeth behind the fangs.

The species was described by Tschudi in 1837 as Stephanohydra fusca , in 1926 it was added to the genus Aipysurus by Malcolm Arthur Smith under its current name .

Toxinology

After a poison bite, there are hardly any local symptoms at the bite site. The following non-specific symptoms can occur: sweating, increased salivation , nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, dizziness , abdominal pain, cramps, tachycardia or bradycardia and especially in the case of an allergic reaction, hypotension up to shock . The toxin mixture of the Timor reef snake contains postsynaptic nerve toxins which, as antagonists, block nicotine receptors and thus lead to progressive paralysis (initially ptosis , later possibly massive paralysis , respiratory paralysis) with fatal consequences. Probably present myotoxins can cause myolysis and secondary damage to the kidneys.

Web links

Aipysurus fuscus in The Reptile Database

Aipysurus fuscus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Posted by: Lukoschek, V., Guinea, M., & Rasmussen, A., 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2014.

Individual evidence

↑ Arne Redsted Rasmussen: Sea Snakes. in Kent E. Carpenter, Volker H. Niem (editors): The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6: Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome, 2001. ISBN 92-5-104589-5
^ HAJ in den Bosch (1985): Snakes of Sulawesi: checklist, key and additional biogeographical remarks. Zoological Negotiations Leiden 217: 27 (2): 1-50.
↑ Clinical Toxinology Resources: Aipysurus fuscus

[1] Arne Redsted Rasmussen: Sea Snakes. in Kent E. Carpenter, Volker H. Niem (editors): The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 6: Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome, 2001. ISBN 92-5-104589-5

[2] HAJ in den Bosch (1985): Snakes of Sulawesi: checklist, key and additional biogeographical remarks. Zoological Negotiations Leiden 217: 27 (2): 1-50.

[3] Clinical Toxinology Resources: Aipysurus fuscus