As air breathers, sea snakes (Hydrophiinae) have to rise to the surface regularly, making them vulnerable to air-borne predators like this white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster). Although most sea snakes have potent neurotoxic venom, they have small fangs, and are generally reluctant to bite. While it is not known if the eagle is immune to the snake’s venom, it is likely that the tough scales on its feet and the thick feathers on its legs offer it a measure … Read More
Surveying Cetaceans in the Andaman Sea
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands lie between the Andaman sea and the deeper Bay of Bengal and are the peaks of a subsurface mountain range known as the Andaman and Nicobar Ridge. The islands are situated on the great tectonic suture zone that extends all the way from the eastern Himalayas in the north to Sumatra in the east and the Lesser Sundas in the south. The geographic features of the sea-floor in this region leads one to wonder about … Read More
Flying Fish, Bay of Bengal
While on pelagic birding trips in the Bay of Bengal off Chennai, we would encounter flying fish. They would take off from under and around the boat, fly over the sea and re-enter the water! It is an amazing sight to watch a school of these fish in action.
Flying fish live in all of the oceans, particularly in tropical and warm subtropical waters; there are about sixty-four species of them in the world. Thanks to their streamlined torpedo shape, … Read More
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