2001 Marine Reptiles / Year of the Snake
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Commemorating the Year Of the Snake in the Chinese Lunar Calendar proved
more troublesome than other years as New Zealand does not have any
indigenous snakes to feature. However, a rather ingenious twist was added
by featuring tropical and sub-tropical sea reptiles which have been known
to visit the northern-most parts of the country. Even then, most sightings
are reported at sea either caught in fishing nets or found sick or injured
near the shore - in fact there have only been just over a handful of
reported sightings of the Banded Sea-Snake since 1880.
featured on these stamps are all found in the tropics near coral reefs or
in shallow bays and lagoons. The sea snakes are believed relatives of
Australian land snakes. They are venomous but most bites occur on fishing
A special miniature
sheet was issued incorporating the two sea-snake stamps to commemorate the
Year of the Snake.
This page was last updated on 25 Aug 2019
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