Quid Pro Quo: A Documented Case of Cannibalism in the Red-Bellied Black Snake <i>Pseudechis porphyriacus</i> in Lamington (Queensland, Australia)
2023
Tim Lüddecke
The red-bellied black snake (<i>Pseudechis porphyriacus</i>) is a member of the Elapidae family and is distributed on the east coast of Australia. The species is known to feed on a variety of ectothermic prey, including frogs and lizards. It is also known to be ophiophagous (snake-feeding), and stomach-content analyses suggest that <i>P. porphyriacus</i> also exhibits cannibalistic behavior, yet this extreme case of ophiophagy has rarely been documented. Here, a case of cannibalism in <i>P. porphyriacus</i>, which was observed in Lamington (Queensland, Australia), has been photographically documented and is described.
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