Two-headed snakes were typically seen as idols in ancient mythology, but the rare creature has recently been spotted in our modern-day world.
Florida wildlife officials are caring for a Southern black racer snake with separate moving tongues and heads. The snake has a condition called bicephaly, which occurs when two monozygotic twins do not separate while in the embryo development stage, resulting in a creature born with two heads on a single body. Officials say the snake will remain in captivity because it makes different decisions with having separate brains that inhibit its ability to feed or elude predators.
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) shared images of the rare snake on its Facebook page, saying it was found slithering around a home.
‘A rare two-headed southern black racer was recently found at a residence in Palm Harbor by Kay Rogers and family, reads the post. Both head’s tongue flick and react to movement, but not always in the same way. Two-headed snakes are unlikely to survive in the wild as the two brains make different decisions.’
Although the snake was living in the wild, it has found a new home with FWC and will be ‘cared-for and monitored’ by staff. This Southern black racer snake has two heads that move apart from each other, but a similar creature found in Bali last year is not as fortunate.
The reptile was found in the streets of a small village in the Tabanan region by locals and the two heads are connected just past the eyes. Residents were surprised to find the two-headed snake slithering on a large leaf and some extremely brave people grabbed a stick and examined the odd occurrence.
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Unlike the snake found in Florida, it seems this one struggles to move its heads due to the way the are connected – the two heads appear to be too heavy for the slender body.
Reptiles are more likely to be born with two heads as they have many offspring and their eggs are exposed to the environment, which can result in many factors that could affect the developing embryo. Two-headed snakes tend to be the result of inbreeding in captivity, but there have been rare occurrences where one is found in the wild.
Video: Locals give offerings to bizarre two-headed snake in Bali
One of the heads is generally the dominant one but in some cases, the two heads do not always cooperate.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
