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ronhalling

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I thought i had pretty much seen it all until surfing the WWW tonight and came across this article, we are all used to seeing the Anaconda's and African Rock Python photo's where the Croc or Antelope has burst through the stomach of the Python but this is the first time i have seen anything like this :) ...............Ron

I have added the article as well.

Researchers on Golem Grad Island, Macedonia, stumbled upon a rather intriguing and
wholly disgusting find whilst looking for snakes - a dead young viper with the
head of a huge centipede protruding through its body. What a way to go! The report
has been briefly described in the journal Ecologica Montenegrina.

Nose-horned vipers (Vipera ammodytes) are venomous snakes found in southern Europe,
the Balkans and certain parts of the Middle East. They can grow up to 95 centimeters
and possess a characteristic “horn” on the snout, hence the name. They’re also
considered to be the most dangerous European viper because their venom is highly
toxic, but they’re a pretty docile species that tend to only bite when provoked.

Adult nose-horned vipers usually feed on lizards, smaller snakes and rabbits on Golem
Grad, whilst the juveniles eat lizards and a particular species of centipede, the
Megarian banded centipede (Scolopendra cingulata). It is not uncommon for snakes to
consume potentially dangerous prey, and there have been numerous reports of death due
to them “biting off more than they can chew”. Although, as mentioned, these vipers are
known to eat this particular species of centipede, it seems that this cocky snake may
have underestimated his dinner this time.

S. cingulata can be pretty savage killers themselves; they’re opportunistic carnivores
and will eat almost anything that’s not larger than themselves. The authors of the
paper note that it’s exceedingly difficult to kill a full-grown Scolopendra. Some
people even keep these creepy crawlies as pets. Each to their own I suppose.

The team measured the viper and the centipede; the centipede was found to be 84% of
the viper’s trunk length, 112% of its body width and 114% of its body weight. This
isn’t hugely impressive compared to the size of animals that snakes have been found
to consume previously. But what is interesting/disgusting is that upon dissection,
the snake was missing all of its visceral organs- the centipede was occupying the
entire volume of the snake’s body. They think it’s possible that the snake swallowed
the centipede alive, but the centipede ate its way through the snake in an attempt of
freedom, bursting its way through the snake’s abdomen (I am going to have nightmares
now…). But unfortunately the poor little guy didn’t make it and died inside the snake
with his head poking out. So close… Yet so far…
 

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Oh god, those things are terrifying! If there's one animal I dread having to deal with it's centipede!

We've got one of these guys at work and I flinch every time it moves!
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Don't mind pedes, but the E. rubripes I run into are usually only about 13cm and below, not the 20cm or so they can get up to and the other main sp we get are below 13cm, usually only 7-10cm, so not too big.
 
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