Marine Reptile Sightings
Marine reptiles are a fascinating part of the marine fauna of the Philippines. These animals are secondarily aquatic, meaning that their ancestors were terrestrial animals which then evolved to move back into the sea. Some of their physical features are remnants of their ancient land-life, such as their respiration through lungs, not gills. Some of their features are very well adapted to life in the ocean; for instance their appendages (and tail, in the case of snakes) which are optimized for swimming, and the accessory skin respiration in some marine snakes. These animals can take up oxygen from the seawater through their skin.
Cool Marine Reptile Videos
In this video you can see how the snake flicks out its tongue: snakes have a very keen sense of smell, also using their “vomeronasal organ” which detects chemicals via this tongue-flick:
I am really happy about this footage, of a banded sea snake, AND of a hawksbill turtle, filmed in Apo Island. A few things came together to get this footage: the animals showing up, and not being bothered by my presence, me having the right camera, and having a very understanding dive buddy who didn’t mind me filming the same turtle for 20 minutes. Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered.
Best Fishes,
Klaus
