Northern mangrove seasnake

The northern mangrove seasnake, Parahydrophis mertoni, is a venomous snake of the family Elapidae that is native to Australia and New Guinea. It is also known as the Arafura smooth seasnake and as Merton's sea snake. Jean Roux first described the species in 1910 under the name Distira mertoni, and in 1974 Burger and Natsuno transferred it to the genus Parahydrophis. The specific name honours the German zoologist Hugo Merton. In Australia the snake is found in the Northern Territory and Queensland, and in New Guinea it occurs in the Arafura Sea, living in the inter-tidal zone. It is blackish-olive with about 46 yellow rings on the body and ten on the tail, and its head shields are spotted with yellow except for the black rostral and labial scales. The young holotype that Roux described measured 38 centimetres in total length, while adults usually reach about 50 centimetres. The species is viviparous.