• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.148-152
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• 2016

The Chinese sea snake Laticauda semifasciata (Reinwardt in Schlegel, 1837) is newly reported from Korean waters based on three specimens collected from Jeju Island, Korea, in August, September, and November 2015. This is the first time that the genus Laticauda and subfamily Laticaudinae has been reported from Korean waters. The subfamily Laticaudinae has ventrals that are four to five times wider than the adjacent dorsals, which are unlike the ventrals that are similar or up to two times wider than adjacent dorsals in the subfamily Hydrophiinae. Laticauda semifasciata is distinct from other species because it has three prefrontals and its rostrals are horizontally divided into two. As the result of this report, four species (L. semifasciata, Hydrophis (Pelamis) platurus, Hydrophis cyanocinctus, and H. melanocephalus) of sea snakes have been reported in Korean waters.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2016

Recent ocean warming near the Korean peninsula and our lack of knowledge of an important vertebrate group, the sea snakes, encouraged us to clarify this part of Korea's regional fauna. We re-examined photographs that had been used to report the slender-necked sea snake (Hydrophis melanocephalus) in 1995. We discovered it was misidentified. To determine the correct identity of the sea snake, we studied 13 original photographs taken at the collecting site in Sooyoung Bay, Busan-si, in 1995 and determined the snake to be Laticauda semifasciata based on enlarged ventral scales, definitive for Laticaudinae sea snakes, and internasal scales, pale blue body color, divided rostral scale, and evident "V"-shaped stripes on the body trunk, definitive for L. semifasciata. Therefore, the snake caught 30 years ago in Korean waters should be considered the first record of a Laticaudinae sea snake in Korean waters. L. semifasciata is listed as near threatened setting the stage for urgently needed studies of sea snakes in Korea and supporting those currently underway.