Rare snake found at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, that died while eating a large centipede!
Rare snake found at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, that died while eating a large centipede! The state-threatened rim rock crowned snake (Tantilla oolitica) lives in pine rockland and hammock habitats in eastern Miami-Dade County and the Keys. This burrowing species, typically only 7-9 inches long, is seldom seen because it lives under debris, rocks or in cavities in underlying limestone. A visitor to the park observed a small, dead snake on a trail with the rear portion of a centipede protruding from its mouth. Other species of crowned snake often eat centipedes, but this specimen represents the first food record of any kind for the little-known rim rock species. Crowned snakes immobilize their prey using mild venom but are unable to bite humans because of their small size. The prey item appears to be a juvenile Keys giant centipede (Scolopendra alternans), which can reach the size of a crowned snake as an adult. Crowned snakes are usually immune to the venom of centipedes...