Eyelashes on point!
- Em
- Apr 16, 2016
- 2 min read
Eyelash Vipers are cute, cute but dangerous - something I aspire to be myself. Omg plus their eyes lashes are ready to go everyday and they never worry about waking up with smudged makeup under their eyes.
This little guy was seen in Costa Rica. It had rained earlier in the day and he was still covered in water droplets. There are several species of Eyelash Vipers that are characterized by scaly protrusions above their eyes that look like to eyelashes (in case you didn't figure that out already).
Like some other venomous snakes, Eyelash Vipers are ovoviviparous (which means that like other reptiles their babies develop in eggs BUT rather than laying eggs, these guys incubate their eggs inside their bodies until their babies hatch and emerge from the mother fully developed!!).
This is an interesting evolutionary design, as it is associated with some pros and cons.
PROS CONS
-Your eggs and babies are relatively safe -Carrying a bunch of eggs around in inside your body rather than outside in a your body isn't much fun and nest restricts your mobility reducing the -You can control the temperature your speed at which you can escape eggs incubate at by regulating your own predators
temperature
Like I said this picture was taken in Costa Rica, we were on a hike to observe a mid-altitude rainforest ecosystem. Our guide, who was fantastic, got a text message from one of his naturalist buddies who saw the viper earlier in the day on a tree at a specific location on the trail. I thought that was pretty cool, there's a win for cell phones eh? I think it just goes to show that technology can play a role in connecting us to nature.
Ovoviviparity is exciting. Venomous snakes are exciting. Nice eyelashes are a bonus.
I hope you learned something or were at least a little amused.
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