Banded Sea Snake: Laticauda laticauda

My first video of an air-breather!  Banded Sea Snakes, a.k.a. Banded Sea Kraits, are active and bold, but docile.  They have one of the deadliest venoms in the world, but reserve it for fish.  They are active foragers, and can be observed for extended periods of time probing reef pockets for cornered fish, rarely surfacing for air. It is widely thought that their mouths are too small to bite humans, but this is not true; however, due to their calm nature, bites are rare and only occur when they are handled. The genus name of "Laticauda" is Latin for "wide tail" -- if you look closely in this video you can see the broad, laterally-flattened tail that improves their swimming ability.  In addition to needing to breathe air, they also need to drink fresh water, and emerge onto land to do so. They also rest, mate and nest on land.  They are common throughout the Indo-Pacific.  This beauty was filmed in Puerto Galera, Philippines.