Reproduction in the yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus) from Panama: Field and laboratory observations
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1996 |
Authors: |
Oscar Vallarino, Paul J. Weldon |
Publication/Journal: |
Zoo Biology |
Publisher: |
A Wiley Company, Inc., Wiley Subscription Services |
Keywords: |
mating, parturition, reproduction, sea snakes |
ISBN: |
1098-2361 |
Abstract:
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:3<309::AID-ZOO9>3.3.CO;2-R Little is known of the reproductive biology of the yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus), a species widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific and eastern Pacific Oceans. We observed mating, birth, and free-ranging neonates of P. platurus while collecting this snake once a month over 19 months in the Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama. A pair of copulating snakes was netted on the water surface during February. Neonates, which were identified by size, were observed from September to December. Captive females gave birth during September. Neonates born in captivity emerged head- or tailfirst, shed the remnants of the fetal membranes by coiling their body in a circular loop, and then surfaced to breathe. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.