Deadly snake lands on Northland beach Apr 24, 2008 6:29 PM

One of the world's deadliest snakes has turned up on a beach in Northland.

 

The yellow-bellied sea snake came ashore near Dargaville and is now taking refuge at Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in Auckland.

 

Yellow-bellied snakes are only spotted in New Zealand three or four times a year and only come ashore if they are really desperate.

 

"When they are found ashore...(they are) normally dead or at death's door," says Kelly Tarlton's Curator, Andrew Christie.

 

Christie reckons the snake is in pretty good condition considering the long journey it has been on, travelling thousands of kilometres across the Pacific Ocean.

 

"It's a pretty awesome animal, she's beautiful so we'll see how we go," he says.

 

She may well be beautiful but her bite is deadly.

 

The yellow-bellied sea snake its part of the Cobra family. It is said to be 10 times more venomous then any land snake and if you get bitten by one of them there is no anti-venom to save you.

 

The snake will stay at Kelly Tarlton's for the next few months and when it is stronger and the water is warmer, it will be returned to the ocean.

 

 

Sea snakes are totally cool.

Sea snakes are totally cool.

 

Yeah, they are very interesting. Fangs that are much smaller than normal snakes, as well as additional smaller teeth behind the fangs. I watched a few specials on discovery and a few of the older Crocodile Hunter episodes regarding these snakes, and for all of their extremely toxic venom, they are not nearly as aggressive as some of their terrestrial counterparts. Almost to the point of being described as docile.

Yeah, they are very interesting. Fangs that are much smaller than normal snakes, as well as additional smaller teeth behind the fangs. I watched a few specials on discovery and a few of the older Crocodile Hunter episodes regarding these snakes, and for all of their extremely toxic venom, they are not nearly as aggressive as some of their terrestrial counterparts. Almost to the point of being described as docile.

 

That's true of most or them, but there are some more aggressive species as well. Even those don't have a particularly robust envenomation apparatus, though, so the "10x more venomous than a cobra" bit that always gets played up may be true of th toxin itself, but that doesn't equate to 10x as dangerous. Heck, the there are a couple of shrews with venom that is more toxic than some poisonous reptiles, but their envenomation apparatus is lousy.

envenomation apparatus.

Yo mamma would be so proud, using such big boy words.