Although centipedes are typically insectivores, the larger ones have been known to attack and eat vertebrates. What has caused surprise in a team of biologists that was in the Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve (Thailand) is to discover for the first time and by chance, how a centipede of the genus Scolopendra, Scolopendra dawydoffi, a large species, was engaging in predatory behavior with a female snake ( Sibynophis triangularis ) while it was laying eggs.
Snakes, in the diet of giant centipedes
This “random observation” of a centipede attacking a snake is all the more disturbing by the fact that the creature chose to attack the exact moment when the snake was at its most vulnerable: while laying eggs. Centipedes appear to feed on snake meat more regularly than previously thought.
The genus Scolopendra has a fairly varied diet, as we have already seen that apart from insects, also some vertebrates. Until now, these multi-legged nocturnal creatures have been seen prowling rat nests to hunt young, hunting lizards, bats and even birds.
Biologists believe that this behavior is largely opportunistic (when prey is vulnerable), and not a staple of the centipede’s diet ; hence the attack of a centipede against a snake is quite rare. When Thai scientists found this twisted specimen among the dry leaves of the forest they observed the following:
“ The centipede was already wrapped around the entire body of the snake , which was captured ovipositing, with three eggs already laid, and two others apparently still inside its body,” the authors write in the Journal of Insect Behavior.
To keep its victim immobile, the centipede had grabbed the snake with its claw-like legs, and prodded it with its poisonous claws (often mistaken for jaws as they are found on the head), a special appendage turned in weapon that is characteristic only of centipedes.
The body of a centipede is extremely mobile and clearly segmented: in each segment there are a pair of legs, which in this species can measure up to 10 centimeters. Due to how elusive they are and how unusual the scene is, the experts did not disturb the ‘deadly embrace’ but took multiple photographs to identify the species.
What makes this incident so striking is the snake’s defenseless position: it was laying eggs.
“We are the first to report such a case in which this species attacks a vertebrate while it is laying eggs,” the team boasts in the report.
As they explain, female snakes are more vulnerable during this egg-laying process, so the centipede chose to attack at a particularly opportunistic moment, “taking advantage of a situation from which the animal could not escape.”
Scientists conclude that it is possible for giant centipedes to eat vertebrate prey more often than we assume, because the nutritional reward from a snake or toad would be incredibly more significant than a mere cricket or small beetle.
Reference: Centipede, Scolopendra dawydoffi (Chilopoda: Scolopendridae), predation on an egg-laying snake, Sibynophis triangularis (Squamata: Colubridae), in Thailand. Journal of Insect Behavior October 2017. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s10905-017-9642-0
Image credit: Chiacchio et al. (2017)
