Giant centipedes eat thousands of birds every year in Australia
employment Australia There is an endemic community of centipede Giants that devour thousands of the birds Each year, which is why they are considered the main predator in the region, according to a study.
A group of scientists took the task of investigating and analyzing the behavior of centipede giants in AustraliaWhich is surprising for its size when it reaches a length of 30 cm.
Giant centipedes, a major predator in Australia
Search published in american naturalist, Note that Australia’s Phillip Island, which is part of the Norfolk Islands in the South Pacific, has an endemic community centipede Giants, scientifically known as Cormocephalus coynei, which devour up to 3000 700 the birds anchors every year.
The centipede They can be up to 30 cm in length and their greatest strength is the venom they inject their prey through calipers, a type of forceps that they keep in the front of their bodies.
According to the researchers’ statements, centipede considered as The biggest predators Phillip Island because it can feed the birds, especially the black-winged petal plants (Pterodroma nigripennis), as well as geckos, skunks, crickets, and scavengers.
The centipede of Phillip Island poisons the black-winged petrel.
However, its hunting is vital to maintaining the balance of the ecosystem of the island mentioned above, because through its prey it transfers nutrients from the sea to the land, which favors the vegetation of the place and even indicates that it is rapidly thriving. Way.
The same is true for predators hunting centipedes
Learn how it works centipedeThe researchers spent more than 100 hours observing their behavior at night, as when they take advantage of the fact that their prey is asleep and more vulnerable to attack.
According to the study, centipede They emerge from their nests at night and with the help of two sensitive antennas they travel across the forest floor in search of their victims.
Black petrels are the birds Which usually builds its burrows in the ground, and the ideal target for it centipede Attacking chicks.
While the victims are resting, the centipedes scrape the neck part of the birds This is how they inject their deadly poison. this cripple the birds So it is impossible for them to defend themselves when they are eaten alive.
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