Centipede Tries to Escape From Inside a Snake and Dies

  • 10 years ago
A team of herpetologists working on Golem Grad, or Snake Island in Macedonia have made an interesting, and unique discovery. Ljiljana Tomovic, a biology professor from the University of Belgrade found a centipede poking out of a young viper’s body.

A team of herpetologists working on Golem Grad, or Snake Island in Macedonia’s Lake Prespa have made an interesting, and unique discovery.

Ljiljana Tomovic, a biology professor from the University of Belgrade found a centipede poking out of a young viper’s body.

The snake had apparently eaten the centipede, which then proceeded to eat its way out of the snake’s body from the inside, including the bones and organs, leaving only the skin wrapped around the centipede.

According to the authors of the study: "The young snake gravely underestimated the size and strength of the centipede. We found that only the snake’s body wall remained — the entire volume of its body was occupied by the centipede."

Both of the animals had died by the time they were found, and experts think that the centipede may have finally succumbed to the effects of the snake’s venom.

Some species of centipedes are known to fight and win against larger animals including bats, mice and snakes.

There are also other examples of snakes eating animals that are larger than they are able to digest, including one snake in Queensland, Australia that took about 5 hours to kill a crocodile before eating it.

Recommended