Meet the highly venomous sea snakes of Vietnam
Among the world's snakes, the sea snakes (subfamily Hydrophiinae of the cobra family Elapidae) are small to medium-sized species that live exclusively in the open sea, with paddle-like flattened tails and venom potent enough to kill a human. In Vietnam, they are commonly known as "đẻn".
Spine-tailed sea snake (Aipysurus eydouxii). Size: 50 cm long. Distribution: From the former Bình Thuận province (now part of Lâm Đồng) in south-central Vietnam (Kê Gà Cape, Phan Thiết) to the Gulf of Thailand. (Photo: Ria Tan / Flickr).
Beaked sea snake (Hydrophis schistosus). Size: 115 cm long. Distribution: Provinces from the former Ninh Thuận province (now part of Khánh Hòa), in south-central Vietnam, southward to the Gulf of Thailand. (Photo: Aviad Bar / Flickr).
Ornate reef sea snake (Hydrophis ornatus). Size: 100 cm. Distribution: Common from the eastern part of northern Vietnam through central Vietnam (Phan Thiết, Kê Gà Cape, Vũng Tàu, on the southern coast) to the southern seas. (Photo: Wikipedia).
Dwarf sea snake (Hydrophis caerulescens). Size: 74 cm long. Distribution: South-central Vietnam (Phan Thiết, Phan Rí, Kê Gà Cape) and the southeast (Vũng Tàu). (Photo: Marine Life of Mumbai).
Striped sea snake (Hydrophis fasciatus). Size: 110 cm long. Distribution: The northern Gulf of Tonkin, central Vietnam (Kê Gà Cape), southern Vietnam and the Côn Đảo islands off the southern coast. (Photo: iNaturalist).
Spine-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis curtus). Size: 86 cm long. Distribution: Found in almost all of Vietnam's seas, from north to south. (Photo: Facts.net).
Olive-gray sea snake (Hydrophis torquatus). Size: 104 cm long. Distribution: From the eastern part of northern Vietnam through central Vietnam (Phan Thiết, Kê Gà Cape, Vũng Tàu) to the south. (Photo: Encyclopedia of Life).
Viperine sea snake (Hydrophis viperinus). Size: 93 cm long. Distribution: From the Gulf of Tonkin along Vietnam's coastline to the Gulf of Thailand. (Photo: Sanjaya Kanishka).
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