This Snake Pretends to Be a Spider—and Catches a Bird
Scientists who filmed the rare spider-tailed viper in the wild have unlocked the secret of its bizarre tail.
The rare Iranian spider-tailed viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides) waggles a fake "spider"—actually a fleshy lure with leg-like scales at the tip of its tail—to tempt birds within striking distance.
A team led by biologist Behzad Fathinia of Iran’s Yasouj University observed and filmed the viper hunting in Ilam Province (map) for the first time during a three-year study. (See "New Venomous Snake Found: Death Adder Hiding in Plain Sight.")
The scientists saw the reptile, camouflaged to blend in perfectly with its rocky surroundings, lying in ambush while wriggling about its make-believe spider.
When a bird pecked at the lure, the venomous viper made a lightning strike in just 0.2 second, according to findings reported recently in the journal Amphibia-Reptilia.
Until 2001, the viper was known only from a single misidentified specimen collected during a U.S. expedition to Iran in 1968.
The weird structure on its tail was
