Named a brand new species in 2006, a spider-tailed viper’s tail resembles a spider. In the Nineteen Seventies, when scientists got here throughout the reptile, often known as the Iranian spider viper, they believed its tail was a mutation till they noticed extra horned vipers.
It shares similarities with different Pseudocerastes species, however it’s laborious to confuse due to its tail. Aside from elaborate tail ornamentation, it has one other distinct attribute: its horned look.
Measuring between 19.6 inches (50 centimeters) and 25.6 inches (65 centimeters) in size, it’s a reasonably sized snake that weighs about 1 pound. The scaly snake is grey or tan and is adept at camouflage.
Persian Horned Viper
While comparable in dimension, the spider-tailed viper is just not the identical species because the Persian horned viper, often known as the false horned viper. Belonging to the Pseudocerastes species, it has horns however not a novel tail.
The horned adder is one other snake that has horns however no spider-like tail.