Aipysurus apraefrontalis Smith, 1926:24
Short-nosed sea snake, Sahul reef snake
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Smithsohydrophis apraefrontalis (Smith, 1926:24)
According to the dichotomous key provided by (Rasmussen, 2001), the Short-nosed sea snake (Aipysurus apraefrontalis) exhibits the following unique combination of characters:
* "Less than 180 ventral scales"
* "Ventrals with a deep notch at posterior border"
* "Less than 19 scale rows around midbody; prefrontal scales absent"
The original rediscovery population may represent an undescribed species: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-04-20/sea-snake-locally-extinct-rediscovered-ashmore-reef/100079668
Conservation Status
Last record: 2000
Rediscovered in 2021 (Kilvert, 2021)
IUCN RedList status: Critically Endangered
Distribution
Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs, northern Australia
Biology & Ecology
"Ecology: aquatic, diurnal, nektonic, predator, inshore; perenially active, viviparous, piscivore, coral reefs."
(Cogger et al., 1983:242)
Hypodigm
Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.1.94 (Cogger et al., 1983:242)
Type locality: "Ashmore Reefs, Australia" (Cogger et al., 1983:242)
Other specimens:
AMNH 43355
A dead specimen washed up on a Western Australian beach. Two photos can be found [url=http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/image/121858643]here[/url] and [url=http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/image/121858644]here[/url].
A photo of another specimen can be seen here: https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-sea-snakes-12054
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Smith, M. A. (1926). Monograph of the Sea Snakes (Hydrophiidae). London: British Museum (Natural History). xvii + 130 pp.
Other references:
Aplin, K. P. and Smith, L. A. (2001). Checklist of the frogs and reptiles of Westem Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement No. 63: 51-74.
Clayton, M., Wombey, J.C., Mason, I.J., Chesser, R.T. & Wells, A. 2006. CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates: A Reference with Conservation Status. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing iv 162 pp.
Cogger, H.G. 1975. The sea snakes of Australia and New Guinea. pp. 59-139 in Dunson, W. (ed.). The Biology of Sea Snakes. Baltimore : University Park Press.
Cogger, Harold G., Cameron, Elizabeth E. and Cogger, Heather M. (1983). Hydrophiidae, pp. 241-256. In: Zoological Catalogue of Australia. I. Amphibia and Reptilia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. vi + 313 pp. [p. 242]
D'Anastasi, B. R., van Herwerden, L., Hobbs, J. A., Simpfendorfer, C. A. and Lukoschek, V. (2016). New range and habitat records for threatened Australian sea snakes raise challenges for conservation. Biological Conservation 194: 66-70. [Abstract]
Elfes, Cristiane T. et al. (2013). Fascinating and forgotten: the conservation status of marine elapid snakes. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 8(1): 37-52.
Kilvert, Nick. (20 April, 2021). Sea snake feared locally extinct rediscovered in 'twilight zone' on Ashmore Reef. ABC News (online), available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-04-20/sea-snake-locally-extinct-rediscovered-ashmore-reef/100079668 [Accessed 24 October 2021]
Lukoschek, Vimoksalehi et al. (2013). Enigmatic declines of Australia’s sea snakes from a biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation 166: 191-202.
Lukoschek, V., Guinea, M. & Milton, D. (2009). Aipysurus apraefrontalis. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 11 September 2011.
Rasmussen, Arne Redsted. (2001). Sea snakes. In: Carpenter, K.E. and Niem, V.H. (Eds.) Living Marine resources of the Western central Pacific. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, pp. 3987-4000. [available from: www[dot]fisheries[dot]go[dot]th/if-suratthani/web2/images/download/v666.pdf]
Rasmussen, Arne Redsted, Sanders, Kate Laura, Guinea, Michael L. and Amey, Andrew P. (2014). Sea snakes in Australian waters (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae)—a review with an updated identification key. Zootaxa 3869(4): 351-371.
Regalado, Pedro Galán. (2015). Los Anfibios y Reptiles Extinguidos: Herpetofauna Desaparecida Desde el Año 1500. Monografías de la Universidade da Coruña 155: 1-509.
Sanders, K. L., Schroeder, T., Guinea, M. L. and Rasmussen, A. R. (2015). Molecules and Morphology Reveal Overlooked Populations of Two Presumed Extinct Australian Sea Snakes (Aipysurus: Hydrophiinae). PLoS ONE 10(2): e0115679.
Smith, L. A. (1974). The sea snakes of Western Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) with a description of a new subspecies. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 3: 93-110.
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/15376/sahul-reef-snake-aipysurus-apraefrontalis
http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Aipysurus&species=apraefrontalis