Study finds spider-tailed viper's lure is pure skin, no special bones
CT scans of a 1968 museum specimen show the snake's spider-mimicking tail tip has ordinary vertebrae beneath its bizarre soft-tissue shape.
What to know
- CT scans of a 1968 Field Museum specimen give the first detailed look inside the spider-tailed horned viper's tail vertebrae.
- The bulbous, spider-mimicking shape is produced entirely by soft tissue; the underlying bones are ordinary, unlike other snakes whose vertebrae are visibly modified for tail tricks.
- Endemic to Iran, the species was only formally described in 2006, and its 1968 specimen was originally mistaken for a deformed animal.
- Researchers say the case underscores how little skeletons alone can reveal about an animal's true external appearance, a broader challenge in paleontology.
“I remember being a PhD student in about 2008 and first seeing the videos of this snake in the wild. The appendage at the end of its tail is so outrageous, I remember thinking it was so cool.”
Sara Ruane, Senior author, herpetologist · Nautilus (press release) ↗ · Sep 9
Georgios Georgalis Lead author, paleontologistSara Ruane Senior author, herpetologist, Field MuseumTiago Simões Evolutionary biologist, Princeton University (uninvolved)
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How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Outlets amplify findings as a lesson in fossil-reconstruction limits
CNN, Popular Science, ScienceAlert, CTV News and other outlets picked up the study, framing it as evidence that outward appearance often cannot be inferred from skeletal remains alone.
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New CT scans reveal 'bizarrely normal' vertebrae under the fake spider
A study led by the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Field Museum, published in The Anatomical Record, used 3D CT imaging of the 1968 specimen and found the vertebrae supporting the bulbous tail tip look completely ordinary, meaning the spider-like shape comes entirely from soft-tissue modification rather than unique bone structure.
“There was nothing in the snake's skeleton that would suggest how extreme its tail looks on the outside…”
— Georgios Georgalis -
first by Nautilus, 13d ago · also Smithsonian
1 more headline
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background
Spider-tailed horned viper formally described in Iran — Scientists formally described Pseudocerastes urarachnoides three years after the second specimen was found, and follow-up research showed the snake uses its tail tip to lure birds.
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Second specimen confirms tail anatomy is not an anomaly — Researchers found another snake of the same species with similar spider-like tail anatomy, showing the first specimen's tail was not a one-off deformity.
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Field Museum collects first specimen, mistakes tail for a tumor — Museum scientists who collected the original spider-tailed horned viper specimen thought its bulbous tail tip was some kind of deformity rather than a functional lure.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Phys.org, 12d ago · also Popular Science, CNN, CTV News
3 more headlines
- Snake that hunts with fake spider on its tail shocks scientists Popular Science · 12d ago
- Birds and scientists are fooled by the ‘spider’ on this viper’s tail CNN · 12d ago
- Scientists look inside the ‘spider’ growing on the tip of a rare viper’s tail CTV News · 12d ago
and 1 smaller piece