The animal kingdom never fails to surprise us with its many hidden wonders.
That said, there are certain creatures that stand out more than others, those capable of instantly capturing global headlines due to their odd appearances or unusual nature.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that when I stumbled upon an image of this peculiar “penis snake,” I initially dismissed it as a joke.
But to my amazement, it turned out to be a real animal. So, join me as I unravel the story behind the viral image that has left thousands of people stunned…
Throughout history, objects with phallic shapes have always managed to grab attention and ignite curiosity. A few years ago, a series of images began circulating on the web, showcasing a creature that left many shaking their heads in disbelief.
Sporting a distinctive appearance, the mysterious and odd-looking animal earned itself a series of fitting nicknames including the ”penis snake”, ”blind snake” or the ”man-aconda”.
But no, it’s not what you think it is.
Despite its striking resemblance to a snake, the creature is known as Atretochoana eiselti, and defies expectations by belonging to a completely different category of animal. It’s actually an amphibian more closely related to the salamander, and the largest of the few known lungless tetrapods.
This rare creature lives in the waters of the Amazon in Brazil, and remained a rare find for a very long time. It was first discovered by Sir Graham Hales during an expedition with Sir Brian Doll in the late 1800s.
But it wasn’t until 1968 that A. eiselti was first described. Further research and analysis led to its reclassification in 1996, elevating it to the status of its own unique and exclusive genus, Atretochoana.
In 2011, this species of caecilian was rediscovered in the Amazonas. Residing exclusively within the Amazon River and its largest tributary, the Madeira River in Brazil, the ”penis snake” has remained an exclusive inhabitant of this particular region, with no documented sightings reported elsewhere across the globe.
The viral pictures that took the internet by storm a couple of years ago date back to 2011, when an entire family of the phallic-shaped creatures was collected at the bottom of the Madeira River in Brazil. They were found when the river was drained while examining a hydroelectric dam.
According to Julian Tupan, a biologist working with the Santo Antonio Energy company involved in the dam construction, not much is known about the lungless, limbless amphibians.
“Of the six we collected, one died, three were released back into the wild and another two were kept for studies” he told Estadao, according to the U.K.’s The Sun.
