One of America’s rarest snakes was found in Florida after it choked to death on a giant centipede.
Scientists say that the rim rock crowned snake was discovered in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.
The snake is so rare that it was the first time one had been seen in four years, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
The dead snake, which is non-venomous and endangered, was found by a hiker who alerted park staff and it was taken to the museum for research.
A giant centipede was found jammed halfway through the snake’s mouth, giving scientists their first proof of the reptile’s diet.
An autopsy determined that the size of the centipede was likely what killed the overly ambitious snake, with CT scans showing that the snake’s windpipe was blocked where the centipede was the widest.
The museum’s study was published in the journal Ecology on 4 September.
“It’s extremely rare to find specimens that died while eating prey, and given how rare this species is, I would never have predicted finding something like this. We were all totally flabbergasted,” said Dr Coleman Sheehy, the Florida Museum’s herpetology collection manager.
The species is so rare that scientists rarely get a chance to study them.
“We can’t say for sure whether or not they’re still present in peninsular Florida. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but their habitat has basically been destroyed,” added Dr Sheehy.
