14 DAY TRIAL // Snakes and spiders are among the creatures the majority of people find absolutely terrifying. Put them together and chances are that you'll have the perfect monster that can send anybody running for the hills, screaming in horror.
The thing is that, as it turns out, there is no need for scientists to try and make a snake-spider hybrid in their laboratory. Nature has already taken care of this. No, really, check out the photos and the video below to see for yourselves.
The bizarre creature shown in these pictures and in the footage is a so-called spider-tailed viper. As its name suggests, this reptile is a viper whose tail looks like a rather plump spider, multiple legs and all.
Oddity Central tells us that this species is native to western Iran. It was discovered in the 1960s, when scientists happened to come across one such creature and documented its bizarre anatomy.
At first, wildlife researchers assumed that this first spider-tailed viper specimen that was found in the 1960s was no more and no less than a freak of nature. It was only later that they figured out that they were dealing with a new species.
Mind you, these reptiles evolved to have arachnid-shaped Tails not to strike fear into us humans, but to become better predators. Thus, the vipers rely on their bizarre tails to attract prey such as birds and other creatures that like to eat spiders.
