Scientists have actually described a new species of mountain pit viper, a venomous snake called Ovophisjenkinsi that inflates itself to appear scarier. Scientists found the species in Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province, China. After gathering specimens and comparing them to other known pit vipers, the scientists say the viper is a brand-new types and released their findings in ZooKeys.
As far as scientists understand, O. jenkinsijust lives in the tropical montane jungle of China’s Yunnan Province. They discovered the snake at 1,300 meters (over 4,000 feet). The species is nocturnal and appears to prefer cooler, humid weather condition. The scientists didn’t observe the animal eating in the wild, however based on their observations of the animal in captivity, they presume it eats small mammals.
Surprisingly, they did observe what the snake does when it’s threatened in the wild. “When threatened, these snakes inflate their bodies to make themselves appear larger and strike rapidly,” the researchers say.
In an interview with EurekAlert!, researchers stated:” [O. jenkinsi] is generally slow-moving but shows great aggressiveness when disturbed.”
The term paper doesn’t enter into the specifics about how exactly the snake inflates itself or how big it gets (is anyone else envisioning a snake balloon?), this tactic makes the snake appear bigger and more terrifying than it actually is, which frightens any would-be predators.
Researchers have actually explained a new types of mountain pit viper, a venomous snake that inflates itself to appear scarier.