Residents of Oxnard, California were treated to the rare sight of yellow-bellied sea snakes on the surface of their shores.

The venomous creatures have classically been known to live out their entire days underwater, however it has been reported by Heal the Bay that due to the rising ocean temperatures and warming of the Pacific Ocean, the snakes are forced to seek residence in new areas.

The nonprofit environmental group has posted a notice to Facebook alerting Californians to take heed of the rare sea snake if it is to be found. They also urge residents to take a photo of the reptile and to report it as soon as it is seen. Its appearance in the state has been its first since 1980 during another El Nino period.

"The species is entirely aquatic. Seeing a yellow-bellied sea snake wash ashore indicates that the animal is most likely ill or injured," Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Herpetology Curator Greg Pauly said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife staffers were able to secure one of the reptiles from a second spotting, however it died within moments of its capture.

The scientific name for the snake is Pelamis platura, and it is generally found in tropical oceanic water all around the world, except in the Atlantic Ocean. They breed in warm waters and are considered helpless on land. They use their venom to paralyze their prey which are largely small fish.

Pauly also informed residents that a lot more sightings are likely to appear within the coming months due to the warmer ocean water temperatures. Despite them being harmless on land, he advises those to not engage with one if spotted, as they still rarely occur.

"We average five snakebite fatalities in the United States a year," Pauly explained.

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