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ArtistNorthern snakeheads (Channa argus) are a highly invasive freshwater fish that even today are facultative air-breathers equipped with a suprabranchial organ and a bifurcated ventral aorta. They can absorb atmospheric oxygen and wriggle overland between drying ponds. In times of climate change, their habitats can be imagined to be drying up, putting evolutionary pressure on populations of northern snakeheads that have not been eradicated as an ecological threat to become fully terrestrial and seek out food sources on land, like insects and amphibians. The northern snakehead is a golden tan to pale brown, with dark blotches on the sides and saddle-like blotches across the back. Terrestrial evolution has increased the size and range of motion of northern snakeheads’ fins, so that they can move along dry ground almost like sidewinder snakes. The image shows a single large northern snakehead about to grasp a salamander on boggy terrain. The style is a biological illustration with extreme scientific precision, drawn as line art in bold colors.
As if northern snakeheads weren't scary enough as is, in this imaginary evolutionary scenario, they go terrestrial. Watch your step!