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First - of - its - kind footage becharm a rare tug - of - warfare conflict between two virulent coral snakes competing for wormlike prey .
In the video , the two red - tailed coral snakes ( Micrurus mipartitus ) wrestle over a slimycaecilian — a limbless tropical amphibian — pulling back and away to win the meal . This is the first time that intellectual nourishment thieving , known as kleptoparasitism , has been recorded within thevenomous snakefamily Elapidae in the wild .
The observation was documented in a study published March 22 in the journal Herpetozoa.
The observation was document in a study release March 22 in the journalHerpetozoa .
" It was breathless because I know it was a unique watching ! " confidential information authorHenrik Bringsøe , a herpetologist and previous chairman for the Nordic Herpetological Society , who find the behaviour , told Live Science in an email .
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Herpetologists stumbled upon the rare behavior while searching for amphibians and reptiles in the rainforest of western Colombia.
Herpetologists stumbled upon the rare behavior while searching for amphibious vehicle and reptile in the rain forest of westerly Colombia at nightfall . The battle had already begin when they come .
" We suddenly see the two coral snakes in an energetic rival or armed combat for the prey which was a rather unusual amphibian called a caecilian looking like something between a insect and a snake , " Bringsøe said .
The footage shows the two coral snakes using a spinning maneuver while bite the blindworm , perchance to untwist the caecilian as it contend to escape , harmonise to the work .
concord to the study , both snakes detected the same caecilian usingchemoreception — a way of finding prey using their sense of taste perception and olfactory sensation .
Previous research has suggested that some caecilian coinage haveevolved resistance to the neurotoxinsin the venom ofMicrurusspecies . scientist think this excuse why the caecilian is on the face of it unaffected by the Hydra venom after legion bite to its flesh .
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The face-off lasted 17 moment before the winning serpent slither off with the caecilian . " We give highest precedency to not upset them , which might well have spoiled the value of our observations , " Bringsøe said .
Kleptoparasitism is reported across the animal kingdom , but it ismost commonly note in shuttlecock . For example , patsy incline to slip pertly caught shellfishfrom little shorebirds . " In enslavement , where the space available is much more limited than in the natural state , kleptoparasitism may be seen fairly often if several snakes are maintain together , " Bringsøe said .
However , report of kleptoparasitism among snake in the wild are uncommon and underreported . " Snakes can be very tightlipped and last hidden life history ( as the coral snake , in our case , do ) which means that behavioral study in the natural state will be peculiarly difficult and clock time - consuming , " Bringsøe said .
