According to findings published in Zootaxaby Associate Professor Bryan Fry from The University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of
Sea snakes' venom is used in life-saving medicine
Biological Sciences, a new specie of sea snake has been discovered in the Gulf of Carpenteria, northern Australia.
The new specie Hydrophis donaldii had been earlier not properly surveyed despite it being potentially known to exist. It’s also called “Weipa”.
“Weipa really is one of the last sea snake ‘Serengetis’. We can see over 200 sea snakes in a single night’s hunting, whereas sea snake populations have really crashed elsewhere through over-fishing removing their prey and also the snakes drowning in trawling nets,” Associate Professor Fry said.
According to professor, it’s not merely a discovery for wild life but also for medicine as many life-saving medicines are prepared using venom of sea snakes.
“All venomous animals are bio-resources and have provided sources of many life-saving medications, such as treatments for high-blood pressure and diabetes,” said the Professor.
