Scuba Dive

At some point in ancient history, a land dwelling snake looked at the ocean and thought…maybe I’ll take a dip.  Now, sea snakes are widely distributed in the warm Indian and western Pacific Ocean, though some experts believe they may start migrating to Atlantic waters in the near future due to global warming.  Singapore, Borneo, Australia and Mozambique have the highest number of species, which vary greatly in color and shape. Their scales distinguish them from eels that have no scales. Sea snakes can dump nitrogen through their skin while getting up to 20% of their oxygen through their skin. This means that no matter how fast they dive they never get the bends.

Everyone knows sea snakes are highly poisonous.  If you are bitten, you need to get medical treatment and possibly antivenom quickly. Tell-tales signs that you are not doing well after a snake bite include a headache and thick feeling tongue, though this might just be a hangover you are experiencing.  If you then lose the ability to move your legs, you can safely assume the problem is the bite and not the tequila.

Huge aggregations of sea snakes have been reported. For example, in 1932 millions of Astrotia stokesii, a type of sea snake, were reportedly seen from a steamer in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Malaysia, and formed a line of snakes 3 m (9.8 ft) wide and 100 km (62 mi) long.  Scientists suggest that these large snake gatherings are related to reproduction, basically enormous snake orgies.  Nice.