![]() ![]() It was after observing the species living on these islands that the famous British scientist Charles Darwin came up with his theories on evolution. The Galapagos Islands, which include 13 large islands, six smaller islands and 42 islets, were declared a world Heritage site in 1978 and are home to numerous, often endemic species. The study, which is part of a bigger investigation programming to all of the snakes that live in the Galapagos Islands, totalling nine species, began in 2018, with the scientists only publishing their results now. They are not uncommon in preying on lava lizards, geckos, insects, iguanas, mice, rats, and hatchlings of various bird species. Galapagos racer snakes are not venomous, and their venom is mild. But they also said that these occurrences could be random. The Galpagos Racer (Philodryas biserialis), a slim, fast-moving snake with a long tail, was filmed on Fernandina Island in the Galpagos. The scientists concluded that the reason why the snakes are exhibiting cannibalistic tendencies could be due to a state of stress that instinctively stops them from dying of starvation. Fernandina Island is essentially a huge volcano sticking up out of the ocean, the westernmost of the islands beyond lies the open expanse of the Pacific. We are only beginning to understand the trophic relationships of these snakes which will help us conserve them in the long term.” ![]() In a place like Galapagos, it pays to be a generalist as prey numbers can fluctuate dramatically between years. He told Newsflash in an exclusive interview: Our study. A Western Galapagos Racer (Pseudalsophis occidentalis) that shows cannibal behaviours on Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands. He told Newsflash in an exclusive interview: “Our study highlights the generalist feeding behaviour of Galapagos terrestrial snakes. The head of the study, Luis Ortiz-Catedral, said that in just one sample, they found 31 teeth and skin remains belonging to a snake from the same species. A Western Galapagos Racer (Pseudalsophis occidentalis) that shows cannibal behaviours on Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands.
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