Scientists have found that the yellow-lipped sea krait uses markings and movement into fooling predators into thinking that their tail is a second head. Sea snakes are highly venomous, but are still vulnerable to larger fish, sharks and birds. The markings and the way they move their tail may increase their chances of survival if they are attacked, by exposing the less vital tail instead of the head. But it could also be to deter attacks in the first place if predators mistake the tail for the venomous head, particularly while the snake’s real head is busy searching among coral for food.
Arne Rasmussen, from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Conservation in Copenhagen, Denmark, led a team studying the sea snakes off Bunaken in Indonesia. They have published their findings in Marine Ecology.
The above photo from Arne Rasmussen is taken from this BBC article.
