sea krait
sea krait Lexical Profile
• noun
Any of several species of venomous, semi-aquatic elapid snakes belonging to the genus Laticauda, native to the coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific, characterized by distinct banded patterns and a flattened, paddle-like tail used for swimming.
"While scuba diving in the warm waters of the Philippines, the marine biologists observed a banded sea krait hunting for eels among the coral reefs before returning to shore."
Word Nuance & Usage
Sea kraits are semi-aquatic and must return to land to digest, mate, and lay eggs, which distinguishes them biologically from true sea snakes that are fully aquatic and give birth in the ocean.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The term combines the English word 'sea' with 'krait', the latter borrowed in the early 19th century from the Hindi word 'karait', referring to venomous elapid snakes native to the Indian subcontinent.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.