Northern mangrove seasnake

The northern mangrove seasnake (Parahydrophis mertoni), also known commonly as the Arafura smooth seasnake and Merton's sea snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Australia and New Guinea.

Taxonomy The species was first described in 1910 as Distira mertoni by Jean Roux. It was transferred to the genus, Parahydrophis, in 1974 by Burger and Natsuno.

Etymology The specific name, mertoni, is in honor of German zoologist Hugo Merton.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Parahydrophis mertoni, p. 177).

Geographic range Parahydrophis mertoni is found in Northern Australia in Northern Territory and Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea in the Arafura Sea.. www.reptile-database.org. It is found in the inter-tidal zone.

Description Parahydrophis mertoni is blackish-olive with about 46 yellow rings on the body and ten on the tail. The head shields are spotted with yellow, except for the rostral and labials which are black.de Rooij N (1917). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. II. Ophidia. Leiden: E.J. Brill. xiv + 334 pp., 117 Figures. (Hydrophis mertoni, new combination, p. 233).

The holotype, which Roux called junge (young), has a total length (tail included) of . According to Wilson and Swan 2023, adults usually have a total length of about .

Reproduction Parahydrophis mertoni is viviparous.

References

Further reading Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. . Roux J (1910). "Reptilien und Amphibien der Aru- und Kei-Inseln ". Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 33: 211–247. (Distira mertoni, new species, p. 222 + Plate 13, figures 4 & 4a). (in German). Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. . 688 pp. (Parahydrophis mertoni, pp. 660–661).