Three-eyed snake found in Australia has scientists scratching their heads

Wildlife authorities in Australia have released images of a three-eyed snake which was discovered on a highway.

Nicknamed Monty Python, the juvenile snake, about 40 centimetres long, was found in March but died a few weeks later.

The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Services which discovered the rather unusual reptile described the discovery as “peculiar”.

It was discovered in the town of Humpty Doo, which is approximately 40 kilometres south-east of Darwin.

According to authorities, its deformity had been causing him trouble in eating.

They said the x-ray showed it wasn’t the case of two heads joined together; rather, the third eye was a fully functional eye.

“Rather it appeared to be one skull with an additional eye socket and three functioning eyes,” it said on Facebook.

Scientists say such mutations are a natural part of evolution, with this mutation being “particularly coarse and misshapen”.

“I haven’t seen a three-eyed snake before, but we have a two-headed carpet python in our lab”, said Prof Fry, from the University of Queensland.

According to him, it could well be the case of a twin baby’s bits absorbed within.