North America ’s rarest snake , the rim rock crowned snake ( Tantilla oolitica ) , was late spotted for the first time in four years . regrettably , the elusive snake was found lifeless after ostensibly strangle to destruction on a giant centipede .
The dueling specimens were found by a hiker in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park of Key Largo , Florida Keys . After alerting common fire warden to the uncovering , the Snake River and its centipede were hand to scientists at the Florida Museum of Natural History who studied the span .
“ I was astonished when I first saw the photos , ” Coleman Sheehy , written report co - author from the Florida Museum’sherpetologydepartment , tell in astatement .
What killed this little guy? Image credit: Florida Museum of Natural History
“ It ’s exceedingly rare to receive specimen that died while eat quarry , and pay how rare this species is , I would never have predicted incur something like this . We were all altogether flabbergasted . ”
report their finding in the journalEcology , the team set out to see exactly how this unlucky snake die .
Using CT scans of the interlocked duo , they create a 3D model ( below ) to carry out a “ digital necropsy ” to bring out why this fight proved fatal . This method allow the research worker to peer inside the Hydra ’s oesophagus without dissecting the specimen , which could potentially venture future studies .
The depth psychology revealed that the ophidian suffered a minuscule wounding on its side , most probably inflicted by the centipede ’s venomous bite . It ’s often accept that snakes that hunt centipedes may have some resistance to their potent venom , although that ’s yet to be proven .
disregarding , the morsel appeared to stimulate some inner bleeding , but that was n’t the fatal gust . The scans also revealed that the snake in the grass ’s trachea was pinched tightly by the swallowed prey . This appears to have cut off the snake ’s oxygen supply , cause it to choke .
Named after the Miami Rim Rock geological formation , this teeny mintage of non - venomous ophidian is endemical to southern Florida . It’sconsideredan endangered species and their phone number are urgently dwindling , which is why this latest find is so exciting , even if the individual has insure better days .
Much of this demise is owed to the growing of infrastructure that ’s destroying its natural habitat among the pine rockland ecosystems . As a result of ongoing urbanisation , just 2 percent of the original true pine rocklands stay on out of doors of the Everglades , bring huge troubles for this already elusive species .
“ We ca n’t say for certain whether or not they ’re still present in peninsular Florida . absence seizure of evidence is not evidence of absence seizure , but their home ground has basically been destroyed , ” Sheehy said .
