Viper vs centipede

This isn't anything too graphic, but it's an interesting find and an interesting article.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/weir...tipede-dies-eating-way-out-snake-belly-n80071

Thought I'd share.

xhexdx said:

This isn't anything too graphic, but it's an interesting find and an interesting article.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/weir...tipede-dies-eating-way-out-snake-belly-n80071

Thought I'd share.

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Isn't it possible the snake was already dead and while feeding the centipede burrowed in and got stuck? working from head to tail sort of thing. the centipede and snake don't show much external damage from a struggle usually involved in being consumed.

Malhavoc's said:

Isn't it possible the snake was already dead and while feeding the centipede burrowed in and got stuck? working from head to tail sort of thing. the centipede and snake don't show much external damage from a struggle usually involved in being consumed.

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Possible, but I would think not any more likely than the scenario playing out as described.

interesting, thanks for sharing. That little snake is a badass.

It's a weird one, though the scolopendras venom would be effective very fast/so would the vipers, looks like the vipers tail is separated so scolopendra wins? (or does it) possible they both died.

The white paper is well worth a read. It seems to me, if the viper failed to deliver a lethal load of venom before initial swallowing, partially dry bite, hinged fangs failed to position properly etc, compounded by the innate hardiness of the pede, the pede would, by it's normal method of feeding, cause sufficient damage to kill the snake. That appears to be the conclusion they reached in the white paper.

I'm taking umbrage about the NBC news article. The headline is sensationalism of a sort, and why can't they take a few moments to mention the proper names of the animals involved? Leaving any and all technical jargon out is a surefire sign they are catering to mouth breathers.

While I'm at it, just how does a snake 'estimate' the size of it's prey? Nose to nose would it pause and ask the potential victim to turn sideways and pose? I've seen a young Hannah, about 4 foot, stuffed to the gunwales with a rat snake and another 2+ feet of snake sticking out of it's mouth. Maybe it forgot it's tape measure that day or was an optimist.

The snark is right, the pede wins hands down, as i was thinking in my post, but the viper venom is also fast effective in small animals, could have been dry bite or didn't have the chance to cause scolopendra are knowing to kill almost instantly (on bats/lizards etc).

MarkmD said:

The snark is right, the pede wins hands down, as i was thinking in my post, but the viper venom is also fast effective in small animals, could have been dry bite or didn't have the chance to cause scolopendra are knowing to kill almost instantly (on bats/lizards etc).

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And scolopendra bite repeatedly. Also unknown is a pedes resistance to the snake venom. Being partial detrivore predators they can put away some unholy lethal crap and keep on chugging. But all pede keepers know about them going into that automatic mode - sting much sting munch sting munch, even during death throws. It could very well have been dead some time before it quit biting and eating. You really don't want to be on the business end of those pedes under any circumstances. If it had been turned the other way things might have had a much different conclusion.
Also, the snake could have delivered a through and through bite. That would only deliver traces of the venom.

But be all that as it may, that location sounds like a place where one should be very cautious about where you put down your sleeping bag.

I would bet that a snake's tough skin would be tough to penetrate. I've seen vids of people in rescue situations trying to cut and stab snakes with sharp knives, only to fail miserably. And that's the force of adult humans. That little snake, they claimed, fed primarily on pedes.

I think the digestive enzymes would destroy the pedes respiratory system due to the design, like with a "frog eating pede" vid on Youtube, the pede was a goner after swallowed imo, no venom needed. The pede was too big to eat but was dead anyway imo though it didn't show the pede dead at the end.

For some reason this part strikes me as being particularly disturbing/awesome:
"After dissolving (or digesting) the snake’s bones and gut the centipede was wearing its skin like a cloak. “We found that only the snake’s body wall remained — the entire volume of its body was occupied by the centipede,” Tomovic and co. write in Ecologica Montenegrina."

I can just imagine stumbling upon a snake that isn't quite moving as a snake should.... and then... ::
I'm picturing something like this, but creepier.

Looks more like the centipede was simply too large and ruptured the snake's abdomen. This is actually quite common.

the article is wrought with sensationalism.. but i guess I can be relieved it wasnt on the discovery channel- then there would be explosions and a 3d CGI animation of them with punch and kick sounds with life-bars.