The dead nose-horned female viper was found by researchers on Macedonia's Golem Grad, also known as Snake Island, last year.
They believe the juvenile viper attempted to swallow its meal alive, before its victim burst through its stomach in a last-ditch bid for freedom.
'We cannot dismiss the possibility that the snake had swallowed the centipede alive, and that, paradoxically, the prey has eaten its way through the snake, almost reaching its freedom,' wrote Serbian herpetologist Ljiljana Tomovic.
'Unexpectedly, the mass of the prey was greater than that of the predator: the viper weighed 4.2g and the centipede 4.8g.'We assume the young snake gravely underestimated the size and strength of the centipede, which itself is known as a ferocious predator.'
The case was reported in the journal Ecologica Montenegrina last
month.
Title : Shocking photo: Centipede tears through viper’s stomach after being swallowed alive.
Description : The dead nose-horned female viper was found by researchers on Macedonia's Golem Grad, also known as Snake Island, last year.
They bel...
