Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Hydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Serpiente marina pelágica, Serpiente marina amarilla, Yellow-bellied Sea Snake, Pelagic Sea Snake

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Reptilia

Order
Squamata

Family
Elapidae

Genus
Hydrophis

Species
platurus

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Pelamis platuros Daudin, 1803 fide Uetz & Hošek (2013) (GBIF Secretariat, 2021)

Origin: Migrant

Status

Least concern

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: The entire tropical Indian and Pacific oceans. SRecords along the coast of mainland Ecuador and Galápagos are thought to be the result of waif dispersal.

References

  • Reynolds, R. P. Pickwell, G. V. (1984) Records of the yellow-bellied sea snake, Pelamis platurus, from the Galápagos Islands. Copeia 3: 786-789
  • Uetz, P. Hošek, J. (eds.) (2013) The Reptile Database available from http://www.reptile-database.org
  • Arteaga, A. Bustamante, L., Vierira, J., Tapia, W., Guayasamin, J.M. (2019) Reptiles of the Galapagos Life on the Enchanted Islands Tropical Herping
  • Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2021) Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Www.itis.gov
  • GBIF Secretariat (2021) GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei Accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/5284517
  • IUCN (2022) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-3. Https://www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on Marzo 2022

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Hydrophis platurus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=17973. Accessed 16 July 2025.