Ok, that's gotta be the coolest snake ever!
Let's first start with a photo!
Nothing special, just a snake and a...spider or a centipede or something right? Well, if you take a closer look you will notice it's actually the end of its tail!
Not surprisingly, this is a viper commonly known as the spider-tailed horned viper and occurs in western Iran and over the border region with Iraq.
The first time the species was described in 1968 it was thought the weird tail was the result of a parasite or cancer or whatever:
It was originally described by scientists as Pseudocerastes persicus, attributing the tail to either parasite, deformity, or tumors.
However it was later found to be a distinct species thanks to a specimen collected almost 4 decades later!
Another specimen was found in 2003. P. urarachnoides was officially described in 2006. The head looks very similar to that of other Pseudocerastes species in the region, but the spider-tailed horned viper has a unique tail that has a bulb-like end that is bordered by long drooping scales that give it the appearance of a spider. source
As expected, the tail is a form of mimicry, with the snake moving it in a figure-of-eight pattern while camouflaged, to attract birds. Although other snakes are known to employ similar tactics this is the only snake known with such a sophisticated and realistic lure!
The tip of the tail is used as a lure in several other species of snake, including Bitis caudalis, Crotalus cerastes, Sistrurus catenatus, Agkistrodon contortrix, Acanthophis antarcticus, Acanthophis praelongus, and Morelia viridis, but none of these examples has the unique elongated scales that give it the appearance of arthropod appendages. source
Here are a couple videos I managed to find showing the snake in action.... It's just so god damn impressive!
https://youtube.com/shorts/JB5Zahd1PNg?si=i9f0q0N3HrBeno7Q
If I was a hungry bird I would definitely fall for it 😅😆
Ok, hope you enjoyed reading about this amazing creature! Feel free to visit Wikipedia if you want to learn more about it!
