1 .
‘ It is virtually impossible to dive or snorkel
anywhere around Nuie without seeing the
snakes, which can even be observed from many
coastal cliffs. ’
Krait appears to be confined to the lake, and none
have been found in the seas surrounding the island.
Interestingly, the lake also has a population of the
widespread, sea-dwelling Yellow-lipped Sea Krait
(L. colubrina) which have been recorded to feed on
freshwater eels.
2 .
Like the Rennell Island Sea Krait, the other dwarf
sea krait of special interest is also confined to a
single island, in this case the tiny island of Niue that
lies north-east of Tonga's main island (waifs have
been found on other islands in the Pacific, but no-
one to date has identified a self-sustaining breeding
colony outside that on Niue). These
snakes (Laticauda schistorhyncha) are
extremely abundant locally, it being
virtually impossible to dive or snorkel
anywhere in Niue's coastal waters
without seeing them. They can even be
readily observed from many coastal cliffs.
Two individuals I brought back to
Taronga Zoo some years ago lived for
several years and fed readily on local
Sydney fishes. This species was once
considered to be the same as
L. semifasciata, to which it is closely
related. However the nearest population
of L. semifasciata is more than 7,000