Disteira

Disteira
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Disteira
Species

Disteira kingii
Disteira major
Disteira nigrocincta
Disteira walli
...

Disteira is a genus of sea snakes.

History

Disteira was characterized by Boulenger in 1890 as having grooved maxillary teeth following the first pair of poison fangs.[1] However, later dental examination under more powerful magnification found all sea snakes have grooves in their teeth,[2] some deep and wide channels visible to the naked eye, others only at the base of the tooth and requiring magnification to observe.[3] In light of those new findings, Disteira and Hydrophis were merged until McDowell resurrected Disteira as a separate genus in 1972 to accommodate new species.[4] He redefined Disteira as possessing a broad dorsal portion of the venom gland muscle called the Oxyuranus pattern.[5]

Although McDowell rolled the monotypic genus Astrotia - which contains only Astrotia stokesii - into Disteira, that classification is not widely adopted.[5]

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References
  1. Boulenger, George Albert (1890), "Reptilia and Batrachia", Fauna of British India, Taylor and Francis
  2. Stejneger, Leonhard (1907), Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory, Harvard University, p. 418
  3. Denburgh, J.V.; Thompson, J.C. (December 31, 1908), "Description of a New Species of Sea Snake from the Philippine Islands", Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4, 3: 41–42
  4. Gopalakrishnakone, P (1994), Sea Snake Toxinology, NUS Press, p. 177, ISBN 9971-69-193-0
  5. Roger S. Thorpe; Wolfgang Wüster; Anita Malhotra (1997), Venomous Snakes: Ecology, Evolution, and Snakebite, Oxford University Press, pp. 15–21, ISBN 0-19-854986-5


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