A rare snake pretends to be a “spider” to trick prey; Snake encounter | Biodiversity

If you see this animal shown in the picture, what do you think it is? spider? Well, know that it's a snake's tail, as strange as that may sound. The type is False urarachnoidespopularly known as the spider-tailed horned snake.

This type of snake differs not only in appearance, but also in the way it hunts: instead of chasing its prey, it simply stands still and waits for it to reach it.

To attract a meal, the animal moves the tip of its tail, which resembles a crawling spider, but is actually a protrusion of tissue with long tendrils on each side, according to the scientists. Science Alert.

At rest, this part of the body seems harmless, but with movement it “comes to life.” Another highlight False urarachnoides is that it manages to blend completely into its rocky environment, becoming almost invisible to predators.

Sophisticated behavior

Only a few units of this snake have been seen – one of which has been preserved at the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, US, for 35 years – and for decades, scientists have been unable to know for sure. What it was.

It was only in 2003 that another individual was found and confirmed to be a completely new species. However, his behavior remained unknown. Until researchers from Iran, after years of observation in nature, made some discoveries.

According to them, spider-tailed snakes, on average, spend about a third of their time wagging their tails at key ambush sites. When the prey appeared, the intensity of the movement increased by about four times.

Science Alert highlights that although other snakes also use similar tail tactics while hunting, a process called tail attraction, the mimicry used by snakes False urarachnoides It is exceptionally sophisticated. This “trick” works best with migratory birds, which are not aware of the dangers.