Sea snakes of Bangladesh: a preliminary survey of Cox’s Bazar District with notes on diet, reproduction, and conservation status

Abstract

We present baseline ecological and distributional data that will contribute to assessments of conservation status of the sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) of Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. We collected 48 specimens comprising five species (Hydrophis cyanocinctus, H. [Enhydrina] schistosus, H. caerulescens, H. [Lapemis] curtus, H. [Pelamis] platurus) off the coast of the Bay of Bengal as open ocean and coastal fisheries bycatch from August 2012 to December 2013. With the exception of H. cyanocinctus, all of these are first records for the species in this coastal harbor. The diversity of sea snakes reported here constitute nearly half (five of 13) of the sea snake fauna documented in the waters of the Bay of Bengal; however, DNA confirmation is needed to further confirm the species identification and examine phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns. In addition, information on the diet and reproductive biology of H. schistosus and H. caerulescens are reported based on specimen dissections. The information on the reproduction of H. caerulescens provided here is the first for the South Asian region.