Spider-tailed horned viper

Its tail is moved in a figure-of-eight pattern, and it moves faster when birds are nearby. Field studies have confirmed that this is a lure and not random movement.1

Footage of it luring migrating birds appears in the Asia episode of the BBC series Seven Worlds, One Planet, narrated by David Attenborough.1

A digested lark was found in the stomach of one of the specimens used to describe the species, supporting the idea that the tail lures birds.1

Its tail tip is a form of aggressive mimicry, where a predator looks like something else to attract its prey.1

Several other snakes, such as the sidewinder and the green tree python, also use the tip of their tail as a lure, but none has the elongated scales that look like arthropod legs.1

A specimen collected in 1968 was first identified as a Persian horned viper. It was only recognised as a separate species and described in 2006.1