Damon Maitsu, Ultimate Debater

An Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari) in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Today's animal of the day is the Blunt-Headed Tree Snake (Imantodes cenchoa)!

Photo credit: Geoff Gallice

Also known as the fiddle-string snake, this species of arboreal snake can be found in the tropical rainforests of Mexico as well as both Central and South America. They can reach a maximum size of 4 ft 11 in long and are known for their long, slender bodies with comically large heads. Their eyes are also incredibly large compared to the rest of their bodies, and take up nearly 26% of their total head space. While this might look really goofy, it actually helps improve their vision significantly compared to other species of snakes, which are known for having very poor eyesight. Most other snakes rely mostly on their sense of smell as well as vibrations to detect predators and prey, but since the blunt-headed tree snake needs to be able to clearly see the branches of the trees it's climbing, they need to have better vision than the average snake. The slitted shape of its pupil even allows it to look down without moving its entire head, which most snakes are unable to do.

Photo credit: Max Hofmann

Blund-headed tree snakes are active mostly at night, which is another reason they need good eyesight, and will forage through the vegetation in search of prey. Their diet consists mostly of lizards, but they'll also often go after frogs and have been known to eat eggs when the opportunity presents itself. Females tend to be larger than males, meaning that they can take on larger prey. Size isn't the only difference between the sexes. In fact, the populations in the north and south actually seem to exhibit two very different types of sexual dimorphism. Northern males tend to have longer tails than southern males and both types of females, while southern females tend to have much larger heads.

Photo credit: Laurent Hesemans

Red Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila), family Colubridae, Southern Illinois, USA

Israeli Blind Snake or Israeli Worm Snake (Letheobia simoni), family Typhlopidae, Israel

Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus), family Viperidae, WE TX, USA

Venomous.

~ @dimity-ult-embroiderer