Sea snake sure are beautiful, graceful, and overall magnificent. They’re my favorite marine reptiles, along with saltwater crocodiles. I thought I’d cover one of my favorite aspects of Hydrophiinae- their venom apparatus! Sea snakes inflict their wounds via fangs, which are smaller in size than terrestrial snakes, but are similar to the structure of a cobra’s. In comparison with other venomous snakes, sea snake dentition is quite feeble, but still fully developed for venom conduction. The venom apparatus mentioned earlier consists of the fangs and the venom glands. Venom glands are situation behind and below the eye and in front of the tympanic bones, with one on each side. They have an elongated venom duct which terminates at the base of the fangs. Some sea snakes only have one fang per side, rather than two. Sea snake venom has neurotoxic, myotoxic, and hemotoxic components. One drop has enough potency to kill three adult men! Some species inject up to eight drops per bite. If bitten by a sea snake, there are 5 important rules to follow:
1. Remove as much venom as possible from the wound! Absorption of venom has to be rapid. Suction can be useful, but only if applied during the first few minutes following the bite.
2. Retarding absorption of the venom. The affected limb should be immediately immobilized, and all exertion must be avoided- the latter being key to survival.
3. Neutralizing the venom.
4. Diminishing the effects produced by the venom.
5. Preventing complications, including secondary infections.
There you have it- but, if you do end up dying, please don’t blame me. I’m just kidding- my main reason for posting this is to relay this message- THE SNAKE IS NOT TO BLAME. That’s not to say the human is at fault (however that’s mostly the case), but remember, sea life are truly the children of the ocean, and we need to respect that. Once we step foot into their home, we must be aware we’re entering their domain. The oceans are, to me, the most beautiful place on earth, and we must give back our respect to the greatest wilderness ever experienced, including all of its inhabitants. The sea snake depicted on the bottom is the Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake (Pelamis platura). Photo credits go to L. Barlow.
(via gastornis)
