biology

Hydrophis annandalei

Hydrophis annandalei is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hydrophis annandalei rather than just read about it. In short: Hydrophis annandalei, commonly known as Annandale's sea snake or the bighead sea snake, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species, which is sometimes placed in its own genus Kolpophis, is native to parts of the Indian Ocean.

Key takeaways

Hydrophis annandalei belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hydrophis annandalei to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hydrophis annandalei from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hydrophis annandalei, commonly known as Annandale's sea snake or the bighead sea snake, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species, which is sometimes placed in its own genus Kolpophis, is native to parts of the Indian Ocean.

Etymology The specific name, annandalei, is in honor of Scottish herpetologist Nelson Annandale.

Geographic range H. annandalei is found in the Indian Ocean, in waters off Indonesia (Borneo, Java), western Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, and southern Vietnam.

Habitat The preferred natural habitats of H. annandalei are shallow muddy coastal waters.

Description H. annandalei may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 52 cm (20 in). Its coloration, which consists of dark crossbands on a bluish grey ground color dorsally, and which is uniform pale yellow or cream ventrally, is similar to that of other sea snakes. However, K. annandalei can be identified by its high number of dorsal scale rows, 74–93 at midbody.

Reproduction H. annandalei is viviparous.

References

Further reading Das I (1993). "Annandales's seasnake, Kolpophis annandalei (Laidlaw 1901): a new record for Borneo". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 41: 359–361. Laidlaw FF (1901). "List of a Collection of Snakes, Crocodiles, and Chelonians from the Malay Peninsula, made by Members of the "Skeat Expedition," 1899–1900". Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1901 (2): 575-583 + Plate XXXV. (Distira annandalei, new species, pp. 579–580 + Plate XXXV, figures 1 & 2). Smith MA (1926). Monograph of the Sea Snakes (Hydrophiidae). London: British Museum (Natural History). xvii + 130 pp. (Kolpophis, new genus, p. 106; Kolpophis annandalei, new combination, p. 106). Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Kolpophis annandalei, pp. 467–468).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hydrophis annandalei

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hydrophis annandalei claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hydrophis annandalei before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hydrophis annandalei ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hydrophis annandalei

In research: Hydrophis annandalei appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hydrophis annandalei in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hydrophis annandalei is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hydrophis, IUCN Red List data deficient species, Reptiles described in 1901, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hydrophis annandalei outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hydrophis annandalei in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hydrophis annandalei means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hydrophis annandalei out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hydrophis annandalei in simple terms?

Why does Hydrophis annandalei matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hydrophis annandalei?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hydrophis annandalei.