Park rangers find 'peculiar' snake with 3 functioning eyes
The unusual reptile was discovered in Australia's Northern Territory.
Park rangers found a snake with three functioning eyes in Australia's Northern Territory.
The juvenile snake was found on the Arnhem Highway just outside of Darwin near the small town of Humpty Doo, officials with Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife wrote on Facebook. The reptile measured in at nearly 16 inches, according to park rangers.
Although there are a number of two-headed snakes in captivity, officials said this snake was "peculiar" because an x-ray revealed that its mutation wasn't the result of two heads forged together, but rather a third eye socket that developed naturally on its singular skull.
The additional eye likely developed during the embryonic stage, according to park officials.
"It is extremely unlikely that this is from environmental factors and is almost certainly a natural occurrence as malformed reptiles are relatively common," officials said.
The young snake was nicknamed Monty Python, according to BBC.
The reptile's deformity made it difficult for it to eat, park rangers told BBC.
The snake died weeks after it was found in March, BBC reported.