Emydocephalus

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
Emydocephalus ijimae
Scientific classification
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.

Etymology

The generic name, Emydocephalus, is from the Greek words ὲμύς (emys) meaning "turtle", and κεφαλή (kephale) meaning "head".^[4]

Geographic range

Species of the genus Emydocephalus are found in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.^[5]

Species

Emydocephalus has three recognized species.

• Emydocephalus annulatus Krefft, 1869 - turtle-headed sea snake, egg-eating sea snake
• Emydocephalus ijimae Stejneger, 1898 - turtlehead sea snake
• Emydocephalus orarius Nankivell, Goiran, Hourston, Shine, Rasmussen, Thomson, & Sanders, 2020^[6]