The spider-tailed horned viper contains the raw ingredients of two of the world’s most common phobias: arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and ophidiophobia (fear of snakes).
The only way it could possibly up the ante would be if it was hanging out on a high ledge (acrophobia) wearing a clown costume (coulrophobia).
This, however, is unlikely. The spider-tailed snake spends most of its time hiding in the rocky crevices of the Zagros Mountains on the border between Iraq and Iran.
It’s named for its remarkable tail, which sports a bulbous tip fringed by long ‘leggy’ scales that give it the appearance of a spider.
The first recorded specimen was captured in 1968 and then pickled in formaldehyde. When researchers at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, in the US, studied it two years later, they presumed they were dealing with a Persian horned viper, a snake that’s common in the Middle East.
The spidery thing on its tail was thought to be just that – a spider that had accidentally found its way on to the snake and then into the jar. But on closer examination, they realised that the odd ornament was actually part of the reptile’s tail.
The significance of the anatomical anomaly was unclear, prompting speculation that it was a one-off, caused by a parasite or a tumour.
Then in 2003, a second specimen was discovered, battered and bashed, but with identical tail ornamentation.
The snake was recognised as a new species, Pseudocerastes urarachnoides, meaning ‘fake horned with a spider-like tail’ and researchers wondered if the reptile might use its tail as a lure.
Bizarre though it may seem, lots of predators use their body parts to attract their prey. Anglerfish grow glowing lures that stick out from their heads.
The tasselled wobbegong shark has a caudal fin that looks like a fish. And more than 50 species of snake are known to use ‘caudal luring’, where they wiggle their tails to attract prey.
The spider-tailed snake is unique, however, because it’s the only species known to have evolved a caboose that looks like a big-assed arachnid.
Three decades passed before scientists were able to confirm their caudal luring hypothesis. They set up a tent amid the dusty mountains of Ilam Province in western Iran and filmed six successful kills by the spider-tailed snake that all went something like this…
Snake shakes its spidery tail. Bird looks interested. Bird gets too close. Snake bites bird, injecting venom into its body. Two minutes later, the bird is dead. Seven minutes later, the bird has been swallowed whole.
Peak hunting season is in the spring, when birds are nesting and have youngsters to feed, but young spider-tailed snakes are forced to adopt a different hunting strategy.
These snakes actually hatch ‘sans spider bum’, which then develops as the snake ages. In the meantime, until it has grown, it’s thought the younger snakes dine on small mammals and amphibians.
So, the moral of this story is this: If you happen to be hiking in the Zagros Mountains and see a groovy-looking spider, don’t bend down for a closer look.
No one knows how the snake’s venom affects humans, so you probably don’t want to be the first to find out.
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