A rare Rim Rock Crowned snake was found dead in the middle of its dinner.
The FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute shared the story of the rare snake in a post on Facebook.
The snake was found at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Experts said other species of crowned snake often eat centipedes, but this is the first time this breed has been observed doing so. The state lists the species as threatened.
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The last Rim Rock-Crowned Snake (Tantilla oolitica) specimen on record was seen in 2015 near the nest of a federally endangered Key Largo woodrat. In 2009, two snakes were found inside a road-killed coral snake on Key Largo. The Rock-Crowned Snake (Tantilla oolitica) lives in Pine Rockland and hammock habitats in eastern Miami-Dade County and the Keys. The snake is seldom seen because it lives under debris, rocks, or cavities in the underlying limestone.
