It was unknown how long the snake had been lying on the path after it died, but the soft tissue was still intact and in good condition, revealing an unexpected wealth of detail. To learn more about what, exactly, killed the snake, the scientists used enhanced computed tomography, or CT scans, to peer inside the animal and visualize its last meal, without physically damaging the specimen. "In our entire collection, I think we may have two other snake specimens of other species that died while eating prey." This find was extremely rare, "even for common species of snakes," Sheehy told Live Science in an email. However, we do not have any specimens like this that died while eating prey, and I don't think anyone else does either." We also have the holotype and paratype specimens, which are the specimens on which the original species description is based. "We have 15 preserved Tantilla oolitica specimens at the Florida Museum, which is half of all the known specimens of this species known anywhere. "As a snake biologist in Florida, this finding was extremely exciting," said study co-author Coleman Sheehy, a researcher and collection manager at the FLMNH. There, researchers preserved and analyzed the pair, hoping that the specimens united in death would reveal clues about the snake's habits and biology. Park rangers then contacted scientists with the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) in Gainesville, who brought the snake and centipede to the museum's herpetology collection. When the park visitor found the dead snake, which measured about 8 inches (21 cm) long, the reptile's mouth was gaping wide and the back end of a 3-inch-long (7.3 cm) juvenile Caribbean giant centipede ( Scolopendra alternans) was hanging out, protruding about 1 inch (2.3 cm). (Image credit: Drew Martin) (opens in new tab) CT scans revealed that the Caribbean giant centipede ( Scolopendra alternans) was about one-third as long as the snake that swallowed it.
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