One species of sea snake, the Yellow-bellied Sea Snake Pelamis platurus is regularly encountered washed up on Sydney beaches during and after stormy weather and big seas. This pelagic species has a wide distribution throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Most records from Sydney Harbour are snakes stranded on beaches near the entrance to the harbour. At least one other species of sea snake, most probably Hydrophis elegans, was recorded occasionally from Sydney Harbour and adjacent beaches in the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s. These records represent stray individuals to the region as the species is usually confined to the coastal waters of northern Australia. There are no recent records of this species from the Sydney region.