Do exercise to get your heart rate up they said!

#tigersnake

And... It had left the building when I bravely checked, wearing my moto gear...😂 As soon as it saw me looking, it bolted. I've since been securing the basement, and will not be weeding or picking up sticks without heavy bike boots, gloves and long pants.🤔

The Reptile Bloke has IDd it as a tiger snake. Well, shit, fuck, and a sarcastic huzzah. The banding on Wikipedia's example is much more bold/distinct than mine.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_snake

#bushlife
#tigersnake
#BlueMountains
#Australia

"A study by researchers from the University of Adelaide and other institutions has found that in a population of island tiger snakes the bones in their jaws increase in length after feeding on large prey, while their mainland counterparts show no change".
#tigersnake #adaptation
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/976816

"When we think of evolution, we tend to picture slow changes occurring over very long periods of time, typically millions of years.

However, evolution can actually happen much faster, over only a few generations – think COVID-19 strains, for example. And this fast evolution isn’t just restricted to viruses and microbes.

Our study, recently published in Evolutionary Biology, documents rapid evolution in tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus).

In less than a century, these tiger snakes evolved the ability to swallow whole seagull chicks, allowing them to survive on a tiny island."

On a tiny island, tiger snakes evolved huge jaws https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/2023/01/16/australian-island-tiger-snakes/ #evolution #reptiles #snakes #Australia #tigersnake #science #biology #adaptation #herpetology #animals #nature

Nothing like a bit of #PhenotypicPlasticity to spice up a Monday. #tigersnake

https://theconversation.com/on-a-tiny-australian-island-snakes-feasting-on-seabirds-evolved-huge-jaws-in-a-surprisingly-short-time-197791

Crikey! | How Hummocky's (Mount Chappell Island) super-sized tiger snakes outgrew their mainland counterparts https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-09/mount-chappell-island-hummocky-tiger-snakes-larger-bigger-heads/101817298 #Australia #Snakes #Snake #TigerSnake #Straya

Hi slithery friend! Please stay a *bit* further away from our front door, thnx.
#Snake
#TigerSnake
#StrayaMate