One of the Most Potent Venoms in the World, Living Just Offshore
The beaked sea snake, Enhydrina schistosa, is responsible for more sea snake bites on Indian fishermen than any other species, and its venom has a median lethal dose that rivals Russell's viper. The yellow-bellied sea snake, Hydrophis platurus, ranges across the entire Indian Ocean and into the waters off Lakshadweep and the Andaman Islands. These are not mildly venomous animals. Gram for gram, sea snake venom is among the most toxic of any snake on the planet, acting primarily as a myotoxin that breaks down muscle tissue rather than the haemotoxic or neurotoxic action people associate with land snakes. A paper published in Toxicon by David Warrell and colleagues documented that sea snake venom can cause rhabdomyolysis, the wholesale destruction of skeletal muscle, with renal failure following if treatment is delayed.
