Finding cannibalism in the animal kingdom is not particularly shocking. Famously, female black widow spiders (Latrodectus spp.) sometimes consume males after mating, an example of so-called sexual cannibalism. Similarly, cannibalism in snakes has been documented, especially in king cobras and Lataste’s vipers. In these snakes it’s usually the male being consumed, either by a male competitor or by a female conspecific. In a research note published in Ethology on October 15, researchers report that some male snakes flip this script, dining on females of the same species—that is, potential mates.
There have been only a few previous reports of cannibalism in this species, known as Montpellier snakes (Malpolon monspessulanus). The new finding grew out of a French community database of animal observations in which users documented three instances of male Montpellier snakes cannibalizing adult female conspecifics in the south of France outside of their mating season. Xavier Glaudas, an organismal ...
