The internet has been taken over by a picture of the ‘Serpens Catus’ or the Amazon snake cat, as many people wondered whether it is a real species or not.

The photo showed a cat with snake-like yellow and black stripes all over its body. Unlike a snake, whose skin is covered with scales, the cat was covered with fur. The startling photo went viral on Tuesday on Twitter, with social media users claiming it was the “rarest species of feline on Earth.”

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What is Serpens Catus?

“Serpens catus is the rarest species of feline on Earth. These Animals live in hard-to-reach regions of the Amazon rainforest, and therefore they are relatively poorly studied,” a Twitter user claimed. “The first images capturing the snake cat appeared only in 2020. Weighs up the 4 stone [56 pounds].”

The image seems to have originated from a video that went viral on Twitter and TikTok. The cat in the picture also has greenish-yellow eyes and a dark patch around the snout. Social media users have claimed that it is only found in the remotest areas of the Amazon Forest. It is believed to be native to South America, “specifically to countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guyana, and Suriname,” according to social media.

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They also claimed that the cat can weigh up to 8.8 pounds and stand at one-and-a-half feet tall.

Is Serpens Catus real?

Unfortunately, Serpens Catus is not real. The viral post is not new. It has first surfaced back in 2020 but then too, there was no scientific evidence to prove its existence.

There also exists no other species of feline that remotely resembles the snake cat. Therefore, it can be concluded that the picture in the viral post is edited.