Sea snakes in Australian waters (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) - a review with an updated identification key Author Rasmussen, Arne Redsted The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation. Esplanaden 34 DK- 1264, Copenhagen K, Denmark. E-mail: arr @ kadk. dk Author Sanders, Kate Laura School of Earth and Environmental Science. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia. Author Guinea, Michael L. School of Environmental. Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territories 0909, Australia. Author Amey, Andrew P. Queensland Museum. PO Box 3300, South Brisbane BC. Queensland 4101, Australia. E-mail: andrew. amey @ qm. qld. gov. au text Zootaxa 2014 2014-10-02 3869 4 351 371 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.3869.4.1 1175-5326 4947280 8F80DD5E-F5FC-40DF-BCE5-C404FA7A6577 Hydrophis melanosoma Günther, 1864 . Shuntov (1971) suggested that 19% of the trawled specimens from shoal waters of the northwest coast of Australian belong to Hydrophis melanosoma . This claim was cited by several subsequent authors (e.g. Cogger, 1975 ; Cogger et al. , 1983 ; Minton, 1975 ), although Cogger (1992) considered the presence of H. melanosoma in Australian waters as “uncertain”. The identifications by Shuntov lacks validation by any specimen of H. melanosoma having been collected or reported from this area since. Shuntov’s identification, in our opinion, was incorrect. We therefore exclude H. melanosoma from the checklist and the list of possible Australian sea snakes.