Venom effects and medical significance are different from toxicity rankings. Do not handle a snake on the basis of this summary.
An amphibious sea krait that feeds at sea and returns ashore. Its natural history depends on access to both marine feeding areas and terrestrial refuges.
OccurrenceConfirmed
Islands named3
Natural history6 sourced topics
References4
Literature updated 2026-10-07 · Editorial review pending
Field study on a small island off Viti Levu, Fiji; comparative ecology.
Diet & foraging
Eels are the principal prey. In Fiji, adult females mainly consumed larger conger eels, whereas males took smaller morays, sometimes several in one feeding trip.
Sex-related diet differences documented in Fiji; Philippine prey proportions are not established here.
Behaviour
Radio-tracked animals in Fiji alternated between land and sea. Juveniles stayed close to the water, while adults also moved inland. Land–sea movements commonly occurred at night.
No Philippine clutch-size range or breeding calendar is inferred from the Fijian study.
Philippine distribution
The atlas records Laticauda colubrina from these named Philippine areas: Luzon, Cebu, Sibuyan. These are literature areas rather than a continuous range boundary.
Literature documented · Existing checklist occurrence statement and distribution review
The original evidence level is retained.
A country listing cannot establish an island or a precise locality.
Taxonomic context
Laticauda colubrina is retained in the atlas’s dated checklist under Elapidae. The authority is (SCHNEIDER 1799). Earlier names and the original source notes are preserved below for comparison.
Literature documented · Checklist identity and nomenclatural trail
Checklist verified 2026-09-05; not a newly revised taxonomic backbone.
Historical names can cover different biological concepts; synonyms should not be used to transfer records automatically.
Across the archipelago
Where this species is recorded
PhilippinesN ↑
Coastal records: blue outlines
Blue outlines locate coastal records, not land occupancy or marine range boundaries.
Philippine distribution
Documented places
3 named islands / island groups
Select an island to read its distribution record and sources. Uncoloured islands are not evidence of absence.
Distribution record & sources
Indian Ocean (E India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (= Burma), Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia [Borneo], Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Solomon Islands [McCoy 2000], Vanuatu
Gulf of Thailand, Philippines (Luzon, Cebu, Sibuyan etc.), Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, Palau,
Coasts of Taiwan (China)
Bay of Bengal
coasts of Malay Peninsula, Singapore,
Indoaustralian Archipelago to New Guinea, Timor-Leste
Japan (Ryukyu Islands)
Australia (Queensland), New Zealand
Western Pacific Ocean to Fiji, New Caledonia
Possibly introduced to the Mediterranean Sea (Korfu).
Type locality: not given
The atlas records Laticauda colubrina from these named Philippine areas: Luzon, Cebu, Sibuyan. These are literature areas rather than a continuous range boundary.
Venomous · Effects not yet summarised in this atlas
Observe from a distance. Do not handle, corner or capture a snake to identify it. An incomplete venom account is not evidence that a species is safe to handle.
After a suspected snakebite, keep the person still and arrange urgent medical care. Avoid tight tourniquets, cutting, suction and unproven remedies. Do not wait to identify the snake before seeking help.
Yellow-lipped sea krait · Nattern-Plattschwanz · Chinese: 蓝灰扁尾海蛇 · Culebra del Mar Bandeada
Authority
(SCHNEIDER 1799)
Year described
1799
Taxonomic status
Accepted species
Family
Elapidae
Subfamily
Laticaudinae
Genus
Laticauda
Species epithet
colubrina
Persistent ID
PH-SERP-C1CB7E048A
Checklist checked
2026-09-05
Philippine occurrence
Status
Present
Confidence
Confirmed
Basis
2018 Philippine synopsis treatment plus current RDB listing
Islands named
Luzon, Cebu, Sibuyan
Range noteCountry/island text is not a range polygon or locality record.
Source distribution statement
Indian Ocean (E India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (= Burma), Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia [Borneo], Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Solomon Islands [McCoy 2000], Vanuatu
Gulf of Thailand, Philippines (Luzon, Cebu, Sibuyan etc.), Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, Palau,
Coasts of Taiwan (China)
Bay of Bengal
coasts of Malay Peninsula, Singapore,
Indoaustralian Archipelago to New Guinea, Timor-Leste
Japan (Ryukyu Islands)
Australia (Queensland), New Zealand
Western Pacific Ocean to Fiji, New Caledonia
Possibly introduced to the Mediterranean Sea (Korfu).
Type locality: not given
Knowledge coverage
EndemismResearch pending
EcologyLiterature documented
VenomVenomous Effects not yet summarised in this atlasDetailed research: Research pending
Venomous!
Synonymy partly after COGGER 1983 and PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970, and HEATWOLE et al 2005. SHINE et al. (2002) show that L. colubrina and L. frontalis are sibling species that are reproductively isolated.
Distribution: The sea krait Laticauda colubrina is the most widespread member of its genus, extending from the Bay of Bengal through much of Asia and the Indo-Malayan Archipelago to New Guinea and many islands of the western Pacific Ocean. Steinicke & Trutnau (1993), later cited by TOTH et al. (2002), reported a sighting of this species on the coast of Corfu (a Greek island!). See map in Gherghel et al. 2016 and Heatwole et al. 2017. Reports from Mexico (Chiapas, etc.), El Salvador, and Nicaragua are based on a few reports without voucher specimens (e.g. Villa 1962, Alvarez del Toro 1972) and are thus dubious.
Sympatry: Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905) is a dwarf species found in sympatry and syntopy with Laticauda colubrina in Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia.
Genome: Kishida et al. 2020 sequenced the genome of L. colubrina.
Distribution: See map in Kishida et al. 2020. Not in New South Wales fide Swan et al. 2017, Field Guide.
Habitat: marine.
References attached to this record
2026
The Reptile Database — species checklist, 17 June 2026