by A Florida family's cat brought a rare snake sporting two heads into their Palm Harbor home this week.
And it's definitely a rare find.
"It's the first two-headed snake that I've personally seen, though I've observed it in turtles before," Jonathan Mays, a herpetologist for the Florida Wildlife Conservation's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, told CNN.
Technically, it's one snake. And chances are, it would not have survived in the wild for much longer.
"Two-headed snakes are unlikely to survive in the wild as the two brains make different decisions that inhibit the ability to feed or escape from predators," the research institute wrote in a Facebook post.
Both of the snake's heads also "tongue flick and react to movement, but not always in the same way."
Although southern black racers are commonly found through both rural and urban areas in Florida, it can also be spotted in throughout the eastern US. They're not venomous, but they do bite -- its "needle-sharp" teeth can make you bleed.
The snake was originally two embryos that didn't separate.
"This phenomenon, termed bicephaly, is uncommon but happens during embryo development when two monozygotic twins failed to separate, leaving the heads conjoined onto a single body," the research institute wrote.
Bicephaly is found in other animals besides snakes, including pigs, goats and sharks.
Because of the snake's inability to survive in the wild, the research institute has the snake and is monitoring its health.
Source
And it's definitely a rare find.
"It's the first two-headed snake that I've personally seen, though I've observed it in turtles before," Jonathan Mays, a herpetologist for the Florida Wildlife Conservation's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, told CNN.
Technically, it's one snake. And chances are, it would not have survived in the wild for much longer.
"Two-headed snakes are unlikely to survive in the wild as the two brains make different decisions that inhibit the ability to feed or escape from predators," the research institute wrote in a Facebook post.
Both of the snake's heads also "tongue flick and react to movement, but not always in the same way."
Although southern black racers are commonly found through both rural and urban areas in Florida, it can also be spotted in throughout the eastern US. They're not venomous, but they do bite -- its "needle-sharp" teeth can make you bleed.
The snake was originally two embryos that didn't separate.
"This phenomenon, termed bicephaly, is uncommon but happens during embryo development when two monozygotic twins failed to separate, leaving the heads conjoined onto a single body," the research institute wrote.
Bicephaly is found in other animals besides snakes, including pigs, goats and sharks.
Because of the snake's inability to survive in the wild, the research institute has the snake and is monitoring its health.
Source
