Emydocephalus ijimae
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Emydocephalus ijimae, commonly known as Ijima's sea snake and turtlehead sea snake, is a species of snake in the family Elapidae. The species occurs in East Asia, in the shallow coastal waters of the north-western Pacific Ocean. E. ijimae feeds exclusively on the eggs of coral reef fishes, which makes it an important predator for maintaining a healthy coral reef ecosystem.
The specific name, ijimae, is in honor of Japanese zoologist Isao Ijima (1861–1921). E. ijimae is found off the coasts of China, Japan (including the Ryukyu Islands), and Taiwan. E. ijimae exhibits sexual size dimorphism with males reaching a snout-to-vent length (SVL) typically less than 75 cm (30 in) and females sometimes exceeding 80 cm (31 in). Females also have a larger body weight (BW) of 170–600 g (6.0–21.2 oz) compared to the males which weigh 70–350 g (2.5–12.3 oz). The female BW also experiences greater fluctuations than the male BW. Adult males typically see an increase in BW from early spring to late summer and females occasionally undergo a rapid BW decrease from late autumn to early spring followed by a steady weight regain.
SVL in newborn E... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naha | 🇯🇵 Japan |
No species of the same family or order lives in Naha, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ijima's Sea Snake sighting in Naha on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 6 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Ijima's Sea Snake in Naha on a given day, against under 5% in July and October–January, the lowest months.
Only Naha, in our data
Naha is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Ijima's Sea Snake sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ijima's Sea Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Naha (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
