Scientists have discovered a rare species of a highly venomous snake in the Iranian coastal waters on the western Gulf of Oman.
Scientists were surprised to find Gunther's sea snake, or "Microcephalophis Cantoris," off the western Gulf of Oman during a field study in 2013. The snake believed to have evolved from the Malay Peninsula to Pakistan was found 400 kilometers away from its previously known range.
Analysts who further studied Gunther's sea snake reported that it is a unique species because it can give birth to living babies, not eggs. The species was first identified back in 1864 by a zoologist named Albert Gunther.
There are reportedly about 60 species of venomous sea snakes worldwide. Before the discovery of Gunther's sea snake, only nine were recorded to be in the areas of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Now, ten different species have been identified. Gunther's sea snake is the first one spotted in the Iranian coastal waters.
Sea snakes are interesting subjects for researchers because they present extraordinary capacities regarding the adaptive responses to varying degrees of salinity and fluctuations in temperature. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers Gunther's sea snake to be a rare species, but insufficient data has not allowed them to be placed on a red list.
Researchers have now updated and published a new record in the list of sea snake species in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The Gunther's sea snake can be viewed in the Zoological Museum at the Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.