by Snakes are well known for the ease with which they sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡ their ᴘʀᴇʏ whole, but for one unlucky serpent the tables appear to have turned. Social media has been abuzz in recent days with users sharing the unusual image which appears to show the reptile’s ᴅʏɪɴɢ sᴄʀᴇᴀᴍ as a large green frog ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴜʀs it.
The photo was posted on Reddit and aptly titled “One Last Sᴄʀᴇᴀᴍ Into the Abysssss.” It shows two gaping mouths in a seemingly silent duet as a snake, presumably with its ʟᴀsᴛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ, manages to peep out from the frog’s throat.
Experts believe the snap was taken in Australia, although the photographer behind the candid shot has yet to come forward. The picture, which is believed to be several years old, has resurfaced on a number of occasions, and spawned its own series of memes. Whether fascinated by the frantic snake or fixated on the frog’s gaping mouth, opportunities to anthropomorphize this photo have been seemingly endless.
Among those to comment on the image was Dr Jodi Rowley, a conservation biologist from the University of New South Wales and the Australian Museum in Sydney. She confirmed on Twitter that the species of amphibian is the Australian Green Tree Frog, scientific name Litoria caerulea.
Different frog species have very different diets. Frogs has been known to seek out more ambitious ᴘʀᴇʏ like mice or other frogs.
“It really has more to do with ᴘʀᴇʏ being smaller than the mouth size and moving across the frog’s field of view,” said Karen Lips, a conservation biologist at the University of Maryland. Essentially—if the frog can ᴇᴀᴛ it, it probably will.
She explained that most amphibians, reptiles, and fish sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡ their food whole, so it’s not unusual to see bulging bellies and wriggling ᴘʀᴇʏ after it’s caught in a ᴘʀᴇᴅᴀᴛᴏʀ’s mouth.
