A hiker found a dead rare Rim Rock Crowned Snake (Tantilla political) at a trail in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Florida. FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute shared that the dead snake still has its last supper as the rear portion of the large centipede protrudes on its mouth.
Experts said that this threatened snake species often eat centipedes, but it was not until now that they have observed this breed doing so. FWC researchers have shared a photo of the dead snake on their official Facebook account.
Rare Snake Died While Eating A Large Centipede! The First Food Record for the Threatened Serpent
A Snake's Last Supper in the Wild
In the post where FWC researchers shared the photo, they wrote that the specimen is the first record for the rare rim rock crown snake. They added that the state-threatened snake species lives in pine rockland and hammock habitats in the eastern parts of Miami-Dade County and the Keys.
Moreover, local news outlet Wane reported that the snake can grow between 7 to 9 inches long and are rarely seen because they usually live under debris, rocks, and limestone cavities. FWC researchers also mentioned that the unusual finding confirmed that the rim rock crowned-snake indeed consumes centipede as part of their main diet.
Researchers speculated that the snake tried eating the young Keys giant centipede that is too big for it with a size of a crowned snake in its adult form. The Facebook post stated that crowned snakes are usually immune to the venom of centipedes, whose bites could be lethal to humans.
According to Newsweek, crowned snakes hunt centipedes by immobilizing their prey with mild venom before eating them whole. Although officials fell short of an explanation as to how the snake died while eating its last meal, they believe that something went wrong during this encounter.
People in the comment section were amazed by how the encounter turned out, with some even suggesting that the snake could have eaten a prey that was bigger than what it could chew. Now, the snake and centipede were taken by the researchers and will soon go into the Florida Museum of Natural History collection.
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Get to Know the Rim Rock Crowned Snake
According to UF Wildlife- Johnson Lab, rim rock-crowned snake usually grows 6 to 9 inches long with a maximum length of 11 inches. It has a slender, pinkish-tan body with a brown and black head and neck, and a pale cream tan snout. The crown snake species in Florida look a lot like each other and are believed to lay eggs.
Experts said the snake was found only along the southeastern Atlantic Coast of Florida and Keys, particularly in tropical hardwood hammocks and pine rockland with shallow sandy souls beneath the limestones. The crowned snake has a secretive nature, so it mostly spends its time underground in holes and crevices in the limestone or under a log and debris.
In terms of diet, rim rock crowned snakes are known to consume worms, centipedes, spiders, insects, and their larvae, and most likely some tiny scorpions.
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