On the tiny Philip Island located at the South Pacific's Norfolk Islands group, there live a population of unique giant centipedes that can eat up to 3,700 seabird chicks in a year.
These giant bird-eating centipedes may sound like they come from a science fiction book, but they do exist in real life. They are called Philip Island centipedes or scientifically known as 'Cormocephalus coynei.'
Their unique predation habits caught the attention of scientists who are currently studying them to understand their ways and how they help the ecosystem, particularly on the island.
Bird-Eating Centipedes Stalk Seabird Chicks at Night
Researchers from Monash University described in their study titled "Arthropod Predation of Vertebrates Structures Trophic Dynamics in Island Ecosystems" and published in The American Naturalist, how bird-eating centipedes defeated seabirds which were usually at the top of the food chain. They demonstrated in the study how these large predatory anthropods could play an important role in the food web of the island ecosystem.
According to the researchers, these centipedes could grow up to one foot in length. They use their antenna to locate and seek their prey. They also carry venom in their 'forcipules' to immobilize their prey.
They hunt a variety of animals, such as crickets, seabird chicks, geckos, and skinks. Researchers were also amazed to discover that these giant bird-eating centipedes hunt fish dropped by seabirds.
Moreover, as its name suggests, Philip Island centipedes eat birds. Researchers wrote in The Conversation that they discovered seabird chicks of black-winged petrels (Pterodroma nigripennis) falling prey to these centipedes.
They followed the feeding habits of the centipedes at night, recorded the type of prey they are hunting, and monitored the seabird chicks in their burrow nests every few days or months.
As time goes by, the researchers noticed familiar and consistent injuries among dead seabird chicks. There was even one instance when they witnessed a centipede eating a seabird chick.
Based on the recorded predation they observed, they estimated that the centipedes may have killed and eaten between 2,109 and 3,724 seabird chicks every year. Luckily, the seabirds appear to be resilient to the unusual predation by Philip Island centipedes.
How Do Bird-Eating Centipedes Help Their Ecosystem
Philip Island centipedes were first described in the 1984 study entitled "A New Species of Cormocephalus centipede (Chilopoda: Scolopendridae) from Philip Island in the South Pacific" that was published in the Journal of Natural History.
Researchers wrote in their article in The Conversation that the removal of these bird-eating centipedes contributed to black-winged petrels colonizing the island, which now became abundant with 13 seabird species. However, it also helped the population of bird-eating centipedes to recover.
Further analysis of the predator-prey relationship between the two species reveals that centipedes could trap nutrients brought by seabirds from the ocean when centipedes prey on birds. These nutrients are then distributed around them on the island. In some sense, experts believe that the centipedes have taken on the role of predatory mammals that are not present on the island.
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