For millions of years snakes have slithered over the face of the earth. More recently, a remarkable evolutionary journey has seen snakes colonise another domain — the oceans.

Serpents of the Sea intimately reveals the very private lives of sea snakes, and explores their fascinating ongoing evolution from terrestrial reptiles to aquatic adventurers.

The origins of these cold blooded, poisonous invaders of paradise are shrouded in mystery, although the world’s tropical seas are now home to over 50 species of sea snake. Their venom makes them one of the most toxic creatures on the planet, and yet very little is known about them.

One species which scientists have been able to study is the Yellow Lipped Sea Krait, found in the waters of Fiji. More detailed observations of these sea snakes have been possible because, unlike other species, Sea Kraits have retained one important legacy from their earthbound past: when not hunting, they must return to land in order to digest food and lay their eggs.

Their cousins, the true sea snakes, have made a much more successful transition to the ocean, thanks largely to an evolutionary breeding adaptation — live birth. And once free of their ties to land, they have never looked back.

The ‘headquarters’ of these true sea snakes is Ashmore Reef — a protected nature reserve 500 miles off the coast of Darwin, home to more than 17 species of sea snake.

A visit to Ashmore Reef with Zoologist Mick Guinea is an opportunity to study sea snake evolution in action. This is Mick Guinea’s third trip to the sea snake capital of the world, and on this occasion he will undertake his first-ever night dive on the reef.

Few have studied sea snakes in the wild, but they are Mick Guinea’s passion.
His initial studies of some of the Reef’s inhabitants; the elegant Olive sea snakes, charming Turtle Heads, and the more temperamental Stokes sea snakes forms the basis for later, more detailed analysis.

But already some exciting and never-before-seen behaviours are observed.
In a remarkable world first, Serpents of the Sea contains the most intimate footage of Olive sea snakes ever before filmed.

The scientists also discover that sea snakes are much less aggressive than previously thought. And that the evolutionary adaptations of some sea snakes, are taking a remarkable new direction.

Shedding new light on these mysterious invaders of the ocean, Serpents of the Sea is a fascinating journey inside the world of one of the planets most lethal, most maligned, and most adaptable creatures — the sea snake.