So a Snake and a Centipede Meet on a Trail... - Observation of the Week, 3/12/24
Our Observation of the Day is this meeting of a Chinese Red-headed Centipede (Scolopendra mutilans, 왕지네 in Korean) and an Ussuri Mamushi pit viper (Gloydius ussuriensis, 쇠살모사 in Korean) in South Korea! Seen by @lhurteau.
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Leslie Hurteau has been teaching English in South Korea since 2017 and takes daily morning birding trips on Jeju Island, where he currently lives.
I always keep my eyes open for any wildlife, especially reptiles and interesting arthropods during the warmer months. I was walking along a trail in a local city park, and some movement caught my eye so I looked down to see a snake (Gloydius ussuriensis) and a Chinese Red-headed Centipede (Scolopendra mutilans). It seemed the snake was interested in the centipede and was eyeing it down. The centipede scuttled under a nearby leaf, at which point the snake prepared itself to strike.
Unfortunately the excitement ended there, as some other people walked by and caused both the snake and centipede to move off trail and into the side vegetation. So, I didn't see who won the standoff. A friend (@j-j) previously found another Gloydius species consuming the same type of centipede on the mainland, so I think it's possible the snake would have won this, although given it appeared to be a smaller juvenile, it wouldn't surprise me if the centipede would have a strong chance against it.
A fun side note, Gloydius ussuriensis is the only Gloydius species (a group of venomous pit vipers in East Asia) found on Jeju, and its colouration is so different from the mainland populations that it has attracted some potential interest from local researchers.
Not only do Gloydius snakes live in mainland Korea, they range west to the Ural Mountains, into South Asia, and east to Japan. Like other pit vipers, they inject venom through hinged fangs and sport heat-sensing pits on their snouts.
Chinese red-headed centipedes occur in East Asia, including Japan, and average about 20 cm (8 in) in length. Like other centipedes, they’re predatory and they subdue prey by injecting their venom through forcipules, which are modified front legs.
Leslie (above, scanning for birds on Jeju Island), credits his parents for his interest in nature. They’d take him to parks, especially Stanley Park, in Vancouver, “and my dad would point out the names of different birds and plants that he knew.” He eventually volunteered with the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC and the Stanley Park Ecology Society.
Leslie started using iNat back in Canada, but really got into it after his move to Korea.
After moving to Korea and seeing how scarce information was in English on local fauna and flora, I decided to go all in and document nearly everything I find, with a focus on birds. Uploading every bird photo I could take greatly improved my bird identification skills, helping me learn how to spot various features even in not-so-ideal photos.
It's been a fun journey, having now seen over 370 different species of birds in Korea, including one species that was a national first for the country. I'm happy to say it's a different situation today in 2024 with many observations in Korea from many different people. After moving to Jeju Island, my favourite part of Korea, I have been working even harder to upload observations to document the wildlife here. With development happening so fast in this country, it can be important to document what is here now in case habitat changes or is lost (which happens often here), or as species ranges change to deal with development and climate change.
iNaturalist has helped improve my identification skills, as well as make connections with other like minded individuals, here in Korea and elsewhere. It's a wonderful globally minded website that I recommend to anyone with an interest in nature.
(Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. Photo of Leslie was taken by Jiwone Lee.)
- some giant centipedes eat bats!
- two previous Observations of the Week document centipedes as prey: this one by @msone, and another by @magdastlucia!
Comments
Well done Leslie and thank you for all your great observations!
I know that Jeju island has a lot of very good small seashells of all different kinds..
typo "centipiedes" --> centipedes
I really appreciate Leslie's sentiment of uploading the "not so great" photos to reinforce learning how to spot important field characters for identification. I've recently begun doing the same. It's very satisfying to see my blurry bird photos filling in observation gaps on the map, even for relatively common birds! Like, Leslie says, each bit of data can be useful in a world of rapid land "development."
Thanks, fixed.
Nice find, Leslie!
Either one of those would make my day, and both together are spectacular! Island biodiversity is fascinating; I'm so glad you and others are recording it on Jeju Island.
That's a great write up, good to learn a bit about your background. I need to make more effort to get my Korean observations into iNat, but I just can't stop taking more photos!
@lhurteau Amazing observation and it's nice to learn a little more about your background in general and on iNaturalist in particular. I hope you'll continue recording and sharing observations from Jeju-do so the records remain regardless of how much development takes place. I've been enjoying the increased number of insect observations you've been sharing. :)
That was a fun read. I feel inspired by this one because it's about a home-grown naturalist who developed their presence through curiosity and dedication! Thanks for sharing this great sighting, Leslie :)
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm happy that others got so much out of this interesting observation I made on a weekday morning in the park!
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