sea snake
- noun
- /siː sneɪk/
- Specialized
- The sea snake can deliver a venomous bite, so it is important to keep a distance when snorkeling.
- sea snakes would dehydrate
- sea snake species
- yellow-bellied sea snake
Examples
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We also investigated whether the sea snakes would dehydrate when kept in seawater without a source of freshwater for drinking.
Academic text (2009) -
In addition to their salt glands, sea snakes have other morphological adaptations to life in the sea.
Academic text (2009) -
Understanding the water requirements of all sea snakes could prove to be crucial to their conservation.
Academic text (2009) -
Thus, it seems certain that sea snakes can become severely dehydrated in the wild.
Academic text (2009) -
My team and I are planning studies of representative hydrophiine sea snakes to settle the matter.
Academic text (2009) -
Because at least some sea snakes are dependent on freshwater, we may expect to see corresponding changes in their populations.
Academic text (2009) -
Even the weakest sea snake is invariably lethal.
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Interestingly, that's exactly where some notably large sea snake populations have been found.
Academic text (2009) -
Our experiments showed conclusively that at least three sea snake species dehydrate in air and in seawater.
Academic text (2009) -
But a handful of them, including sea snakes, are secondarily marine, having evolved from terrestrial ancestors.
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
A long animal without legs covered in scales that sometimes has poison
Sea snakes with venom that live in warm Indian and Pacific waters
Sea snakes with poison that live mainly in the Indo-Pacific Ocean
How Aquatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound meaning is directly derivable from 'sea' (a large body of saltwater) + 'snake' (a limbless reptile): a snake that lives in the sea. While technical details (venomous, paddle-like tail, viviparous birth) add specificity, an average B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it denotes an aquatic snake; similar compounds exist across languages, supporting transparency.
Etymology
Sea snake pictures a snake living in the sea, often with a flat, paddle-like tail and venom to catch fish. So sea snake means 'a kind of snake that lives in warm coastal waters'.