Scientists have unveiled the real voice behind the deadly 'singing snake' - a giant and venomous viper found in the Amazon region and in parts of Central America.
Local folklore claims that the bushmaster can "sing" and that the breathy, repetitive notes of this call instill fear in people living in the northwestern Amazon River basin, researchers said.
However, researchers now report in the journal ZooKeys that the song attributed to the bushmaster belongs to two types of tree frog: the little-known species Tepuihyla tuberculosa and a new species, Tepuihyla shushupe.
Scientists were researching frog populations in Ecuador and Peru when they learned of the alleged singing ability of the viper Lachesis muta from their field assistants.
However, when they investigated the sound identified by others as the viper's call, they tracked the call to two frog species, 'Live Science' reported.
The researchers described the frogs' call as "a cackle of short notes repeated at a fast rate," with the amplitude and speed of the call building up during the first half and then decreasing towards the end.
It is unclear why the bushmaster was credited for the frogs' calls, but the researchers noted that the tale of the singing viper was widespread and not just among people native to the Amazon basin.
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