A large, curious Indo-Pacific marine elapid often encountered on coral reefs, approaching divers without aggression but bearing potent venom.
Description
The olive sea snake is a stout marine elapid usually 1.5 to 2 m long, with smooth olive-brown to dark grey scales, a paler belly, and a strongly flattened paddle-like tail. The head is small and the body cylindrical, and there are no large ventral scales like those of land snakes.
Behavior
Active during the day, the olive sea snake forages along reef edges and into crevices for fish and crustaceans. It is curious by nature and often approaches divers closely without aggression, though bites — usually delivered to grabbed individuals — are highly venomous and require treatment.
Range
Widely distributed across the tropical Indo-Australian region from the Persian Gulf to Vanuatu, with strongholds in the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef. The species ranges throughout the seabed of warm shallow waters around Australia and New Guinea.