Sea Snake update

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And the winner is actually a tie! Thank you to Kurt and Claire for the first to send information. I do believe it is a Sea Kraite (not crate) only because the dive guide mentioned the snakes as being a 'kraite'... Kurt sent some facinating information about the flat tail Sea snake which is indigenous to Niue. We are still investigating which one we saw in huge numbers. And a special shout out to my mother who sent the longest most comprehensive information packet on all sea snakes in general 😊. A big thank you for all of the other replies that were brought in today. (I believe Kurt and Claire are in a time zone where they were able to see the message first)

For you who are curious.. this is what Kurt, Claire, my mom and others found:

The species we believe we are seeing are Sea Kraites. I will double check it with the other sea snake upon finding internet again.

Sea snakes are strange and wonderful critters distributed primarily in the Southeast Asian and Australian region. Related to the venomous cobra family, sea snakes have two main subgroups. The first includes the 'true' sea snakes; these species are specialized for a fully aquatic existence, have live birth, and never leave the water. The second group includes about a half dozen amphibious species known as sea kraits, which hunt their food in the water but move into terrestrial shoreline habitats to digest food, mate, shed their skin, and lay eggs. Most sea kraits are elegantly attired in black and white bands. One species has black bands interspersed with brilliant DayGlo blue. These snakes can reach astonishingly high densities in some areas, and researchers have reported finding up to 600 in a single day.

The information on the Flat-tail sea snake:

Taxonomy
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA REPTILIA SQUAMATA ELAPIDAE

Scientific Name: Laticauda schistorhynchus Species Authority: (Günther, 1874) Common Name/s: English - Flat-tail Sea Snake

Synonym/s: Platurus schistorhynchus Günther, 1874 Pseudolaticauda schistorhynchus (Günther, 1874) Taxonomic Notes: There is some debate as to whether L. schistorynchus is a separate species, or a subspecies of L. semifasciata, due to similarities in venom chemistry (Guinea et al. 1983, Tamiya et al. 1983) and morphology (McCarthy 1986). This is disputed by Cogger and Heatwole (2005).

The Reptile Database treats this species under the genus Pseudolaticauda.

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable B1ab(iii);D2 ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2009
Assessor/s: Lane, A. & Guinea, M.
Reviewer/s: Livingstone, S.R., Elfes, C.T., Polidoro, B.A. & Carpenter, K.E. (Global Marine Species Assessment Coordinating Team)
Justification:
This species has a very restricted range and is known only from Niue, where it has an extent of occurrence estimated to be less than 300 km². As this species needs to reproduce on land, current threats include habitat degradation from coastal development and extreme weather events such as cyclones. Future threats include sea level rise due to climate change. This species is listed as Vulnerable.

Geographic Range
Range Description: This species is endemic to Niue, and has an extent of occurrence of less than 300 km².
Countries: Native:
Niue
FAO Marine Fishing Areas: Native:
Pacific - western central

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