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A sea snake specie considered to have been extinct was rediscovered off the coast of Western Australia. These snakes were spotted mating by the wildlife officer in Ningaloo marine park on the mid-north coast of the state. The last official record of the sea snake sightings was recorded in Timor Sea in 1998. Albert Jacob, Environment Minister for Western Australia, said that the discovery was crucial because these snakes have never been seen at the Ningaloo Reef.

"This stunning marine park is a haven for a diverse range of species and we are constantly gaining more information about it," he said. A photograph of the snakes was taken by the wildlife officer and was later identified by the scientists of James Cook University, reported The Guardian.

According to the researchers, the specie of the short-nosed snake found on Ningaloo Reef and an exceptional leaf-scaled sea snake at Shark Bay are the first time in 15 years that they have been spotted alive. Their earlier known habitation was on Ashmore Reef, located 2,000 kilometers away in Timor Sea. However, over the years they disappeared from there, the reason that the scientists couldn't explain as to why that happened, said The Times

According to the team, this study provides the "first unequivocal records of live animals for A. foliosquama and A. apraefrontalis in coastal waters of WA and is the first to document that A. foliosquama occurs as far south as subtropical Shark Bay."

While it is definitely exciting to spot the sea snakes alive but there are still many questions that are left unanswered. For example, there has been a decline of sea snakes over the last two decades that remains unexplained, including the Ashmore Reef that was announced as a National Nature Reserve in 1983, said the authors, as reported by Mongabay.