Banded sea krait

Classification

Chordata › Reptilia › Squamata › Elapidae

1. Kingdom Animalia animals
   • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
   • Cells have no cell walls
   • Most can move at some stage of life
2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
   • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
   • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
   • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
   • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
   • Includes echinoderms and chordates
4. Phylum Chordata chordates
   • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
   • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
   • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
   • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
   • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
   • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
   • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
   • Paired fins or limbs
   • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
7. Superclass Osteichthyes bony vertebrates
   • Bony vertebrates: skeleton made largely of bone
   • Most have a lung or swim bladder
   • Includes ray-finned and lobe-finned fishes and all tetrapods
8. Clade Sarcopterygii lobe-finned vertebrates
   • Lobe-finned: fleshy fins with bones like those of limbs
   • Includes coelacanths, lungfishes, and all tetrapods
9. Clade Tetrapoda four-limbed vertebrates
   • Four limbs with fingers and toes (or descended from animals that had them)
   • Breathe air with lungs
10. Class Reptilia reptiles (birds included)
    • Scaly skin made of keratin
    • Lay shelled eggs on land or carry eggs inside the body (amniotic egg)
    • In modern classification this group includes birds
11. Order Squamata lizards & snakes
    • Lizards and snakes: skin shed in pieces or whole
    • Flexible skull with a hinged jaw
    • Males have paired reproductive organs (hemipenes)
12. Family Elapidae cobras, sea snakes & kin
    • Venomous snakes with fixed front fangs
    • Includes cobras and sea snakes; sea snakes have flattened, paddle-like tails
13. Genus Laticauda
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
14. Species Laticauda colubrina Banded sea krait

Closest relatives in the guide

• Yellow-bellied sea snake Hydrophis platurus same family
• Marine iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus same order
• African penguin Spheniscus demersus same class
• Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea same class
• Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica same class
• Brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis same class
• Common eider Somateria mollissima same class
• Common loon Gavia immer same class