New Spiny Venomous Sea Snake Discovered
by Christin Dell’Amore
A new species of venomous sea snake mysteriously covered head to tail in spiny scales has been discovered in treacherous seas off northern Australia, a new study says.
Though some other sea snakes have spiky scales on their bellies, “no other [known] sea snake has this curious feature,” study leader Kanishka Ukuwela, an ecologist at the University of Adelaide, said by email.
Normally snakes have smooth scales, but each of the newly named Hydrophis donaldi’s scales has a spiny projection, he said. Scientists cruising shallow seagrass beds in the Gulf of Carpentaria recently captured nine of the rough-scaled reptiles. Each of the specimens was found on the rocky seafloor, a habitat that could explain the new species’ uniquely strong scales…
(read more: National Geo)
(photos: Kanishka Dimithra Bandara Ukuwela, Univ. of Queensland)
Seriously, eff Australia.
bekn:
i think we pretty regularly forget how fucking massive Australia is
yeah but half of that is probably populated entirely by spiders
Snakes too, don’t forget snakes.
MEANWHILE IN AUSTRALIA
BOBBLE-HEADED BIRDS
RABBITS MATING WITH RATS
TINY HERBIVOROUS BEARS
PLUSH TOYS MAGICALLY COME TO LIFE
LIZARDS-
WHAT THE FUCK
WALKING FEATHER DUSTERS
THE FUCK IS THIS IDEK BUT IT DESERVES A HUG
THE MOST FABULOUS BIRDS SINCE FLAMINGOS
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS THING IT’S LIKE A DOG BRED WITH A MEERKAT
WELL IT’S PRETTY CUTE I G- JESUSFUCK
AND MORE LIZARDS
FUCK MAN EVERYWHERE HAS LIZARDS WHAT’S THE BIG D- WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK
AND WHATEVER THIS THING IS WILL FUCK UP A HONEY BADGER
WHAT YOU THINK CUZ IT’S LIKE 80% DESERT HERE WE DON’T GOT PENGUINS FUCK YOU WE GOT PENGUINS IN SWEATERS
HEY I THINK YOU SAW THIS ONE IN A MUSEUM ONCE
ALSO HEY ENJOY OUR BEAUTIFUL BEACHES ALSO THIS FUCKER
AND THIS GUY
AND THIS GUY WANTS TO KILL YOU TOO
AND HOLY FUCK LOOK AT THIS THING
JESUS CHRIST THEY COME IN POCKET VERSIONS
BACK TO THINGS THAT WANT YOU DEAD
WEREN’T EXPECTING THAT WERE YOU.
SO YEAH, COME VISIT AUSTRALIA.
WE’RE ALL FUCKING WAITING WITH OUR WEIRD SHIT.
P.S.
Sometimes I imagine that this must be what being Australian is like… until I remember that LITERALLY EVERYTHING IN AUSTRALIA WANTS TO KILL YOU.
Pfffft - no that’s fair actually.
Aussie friends, I love you and your accents are awesome and all, but seriously, EFF AUSTRALIA. You couldn’t pay me enough money to go there, and that’s saying something because I am BROKE.
