How urban seasnakes lost their stripes
Thursday, August 10, 2017 - 11:32
in Biology & Nature
Researchers studying turtle-headed seasnakes living on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific noticed something unusual about the snakes' color patterns: seasnakes living in more pristine parts of the reef were decorated with black-and-white bands or blotches. Those in places with more human activity -- near the city or military activity -- were black. Those color differences are explained by differences in the snakes' exposure to pollution.