Serpents of the Shallows
First seen in the geologic record from approximately 167 million years ago, snakes now live on much of the planet, but very few of the more than 3,000 known living species are venomous. Sea snakes evolved much more recently and are the result of remarkable mutations, adaptations and repeated invasions into the marine world by terrestrial snake ancestors. The seas are home to more than 60 species of sea snakes that swim and hunt amid warm, shallow coral reefs, estuaries, seagrass beds, mudflats and open waters.
