Australia is home to several deadly land and sea creatures. From the very poisonous blue-ringed octopus to the saltwater crocodile, the fauna in Australia is something you would not want to mess with. Adding to the list of super bizarre animals found on the island continent, rangers have discovered a three-eyed python on Humpty Doo highway.
The baby carpet python had a third eye on the top of its head which experts say was as a result of natural embryonic mutation. Nicknamed as Monty Python, the snake died just weeks after its discovery. Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Service shared the information and pictures about the python in a Facebook post which went viral in no time.
“An X-Ray of the snake’s head was obtained which revealed it was not two separate heads forged together, rather it appeared to be one skull with an additional eye socket and three functioning eyes,” they wrote. “It is extremely unlikely that this is from environmental factors and is almost certainly a natural occurrence as malformed reptiles are relatively common.”
The three-eyed snake warns The Dry is coming!Our Rangers found a three-eyed snake on the Arnhem Highway near Humpty…
Posted by Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Snake expert Prof Bryan Fry of the University of Queensland elaborated on the third eye mutation in animals. She told the BBC, “Every baby has a mutation of some sort ― this one is just particularly coarse and misshapen,” Fry said. “I haven’t seen a three-eyed snake before, but we have a two-headed carpet python in our lab ― it’s just a different kind of mutation, like what we see with Siamese twins.”
The 40cm-long (15 inch) creature had been reportedly struggling to eat food since last few weeks due to its deformity. The forest authorities also mentioned that it was surprising that the snake could survive for so long in the wild with its deformity.
The world is surely an amazing place! You never know when it will surprise you with its incredible wonders.