Deadliest Sea Snake

Sea snakes are known to have one of the strong and mighty venoms but there are also other species of sea snakes that are unique and docile and do not have much venom. Of all the sea snakes in the world, which one is the deadliest? What is the gauge of tagging it as deadliest?

There is a snake bite alone that contains more than enough venom to kill 50 people. The number of casualties is about twice as much as the most venomous terrestrial snakes like the King Cobra, the rattlesnake and the Black Mamba.

The Beaked Sea Snake (Enhydrina schistosa) is notorious, aggressive and vouches for nine out of every ten deaths from sea snake bites. Its victims are mostly fishermen and other people who love to wade or fish in murky water. Every year there are numerous victims that nonchalantly paddle into the waters and get injected by the beaked sea snake’s most potent venom. It thrives mainly from the Persian Gulf to Asia and Australia.

It is in fact the 6th of the deadliest snake but the most cunning among the different species of sea snakes combined. Although most sea snakes have relatively low, moderate to high venom potency, this one is responsible for about 90% of all deaths related to sea bites. The Beaked Sea Snake has a long, slender body that reaches up to 1.2 meters long. Its color is generally light or sometimes darker gray with indistinguishable blue-gray strips. It has a sharply pointed head with a paddle-like tail and the fangs of a Beaked Sea Snake are about 4mm long. They usually feed on shrimps, catfish and other sea creatures it
can lay eyes on.

In this predator-prey relationship, the Beaked Sea Snake is most of the time predator but in some cases, its luck falls short and this dreadful and venomous sea snake becomes prey to other big fish and crocodiles.

 Sea Snake Video