Oh, my. It’s a movie of Scolopendra killing and eating a mouse. It’s not for the faint of heart: first there’s the squeaking, the terrible squeaking, and then there’s the chewing, and it goes on and on and on and on…
There is no god.
Or, as is noted in the comments, god is a righteously evil being.
(via Apostropher)
PZ, your conclusion doesn’t match the evidence. Reading just a bit of the Old Testament readily shows just how much God is hot for this sort of thing.
ewwwww!!
I feel like I need to wash myself. ewww. ungg.
That is insane.
I guess if I were God I’d have given the centipede eyeballs like cat. It’d be cooler to watch if it had a more expressive face.
I haven’t listened, but, there are so many other natural and horrible things that I know whereof you speak. My daughter is a San Francisco Zen Center monk, and is attempting to appreciate, and accept, and END the suffering of all sentient beings. Sounds like a goal.
Given that we are most probably patterned, self-conscious swirls in the thermodynamic decay of the universe it is a really ambitious goal.
Namasti. Shalom. Amen.
Gardening here in Hawaii, you come across 6-8 inch centipedes with a nasty bite all the time, but that is a GIANT centipede.
Funny thing, when you pull away a piece of bark or a leaf to reveal a blue and red centipede in all its fury, you’re instinct is to cut in half (with your Japanese sickle, which you always have with you when gardening in Hawaii), but cutting it in half only makes it angry.
The first time I cut a centipede in half, the front end walked away, and I asked a Samoan if it could still bite me. “If it shmells you, can.”
Looks like the standard killing and eating of things.
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PZ, I’m curious about my own reaction to that movie. The creep-factor was so high that even if I smashed the thing with a boot, I wouldn’t be able to sleep in the same room with the trash can I threw the thing into.
What’s the deal with the visceral reaction so many of us have to creepy-crawlies? Do you think it’s something subtly learned at some early point in our lives, or do we have some sort of innate programming that helps us be afraid of them?
Interesting that the mouse seemed to lack caution around it. I can think of a half-dozen reasons for that — the most obvious being simple surprise — but I wonder if you can shed any light on that also?
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Is this the same scolopendra that is from Venezuela and eats bats for a living?
There’s a paper here that goes into delightfully complete detail of the partially eaten bats found.
Oh, and the venerable Sir David Attenborough apparently includeded them in Life in the Undergrowth (does anyone know of a video clip available from that series?)
Colin
More importantly, what’s the difference between those who spazz and those who have ice-water in their veins?
I used to keep both tarantulas and giant madagascar hissing cockroatches as pets, so I’m not exactly the squeamish sort, but when I’ve seen Scolopendra in person… Well, there was this one that was about foot long and as big around as my thumb. That’s as big as they get, fortunately. The speed, the ferocity, the ability to escape through the tiniest holes… Tarantulas, even most scorpions can’t really compare. The giant centipedes reside in their own plane of freaky creatures.
They can also claim something that tarantulas cannot – a confirmed fatality (a young girl in the Phillipines died after being bit in the head by a Scolopendra species.)
The next time some fundamentalist online starts making dire prognostications about how unbelievers like me will burn in hell everlasting, I’ll send them the link to this video telling them to watch it, and then see if they are still in the mood to tell me where I’m going afterwards.
Another thought is that the next time a PETA person starts spouting off at me online about human cruelty to animals, is to send them the link to that video also, and then get back to me about how cruel we are to lab rats after they’ve watched it.
This really is just Tom’s way of making sure we never visit him, methinks.
God, I can tell from the still pic that this particular movie is not for me.
I’m about halfway through “The Ancestor’s Tale” and the one thing I’m realizing is… there are a whole bunch of animals in this world I didn’t even know existed. (I keep wishing this book was illustrated so I wouldn’t have to keep putting it down and Googling various Latin names.) You’d think that after 35 years of watching PBS and the Discovery Channel, I’d have seen all the animals by now… but no… then some crazy biologist has to march out the foot-long mammal-eating arthropods.
Yeech.
Those things are so cool! Call me sick, but I love to watch an arthropod take down a vertebrate–it’s pretty humbling. A few years back, I watched a 10-inch Scolopendra in Peru drive a mandible through a friend’s thumbnail! That mouse showed no caution because it was a naive couch potato that lived its entire life in a terrarium.
A few years back, I watched a 10-inch Scolopendra in Peru drive a mandible through a friend’s thumbnail!
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Did you get a good video?
I’d want one for a pet if I didn’t think it would eat my cat.
Chtorr! Chtorr! Paging David Gerrold…
I love Centipedes. Stuff like this is what really got me interested in biology.
Yep. Keep telling us how you don’t hate religion. . .or God. You twist the imaginary knife every chance you get.
Fascinating. As someone who got bitten by various venomous critters as a child, all I can say is it’s METAL!
The centipedes in Hawaii only feed on garden cocka-roaches and potatoe bugs. Their “sting” is said to be three or four times that of a bee.
Yep. Keep telling us how you don’t hate religion. . .or God. You twist the imaginary knife every chance you get.
Dude. You believe in Imaginary Knives? Weird.
Wow. I’m too awed to be grossed out.
We humans often think we’re tougher than bugs because of, oh, our endoskeletons or whatever, but this just shows that had things gone another way we’d be like that mouse.
We have a large native centipede like that here in New Zealand that gets to around a foot in length. It’s my goal to one day find one of those animals and photograph it.
For the record, I found the movie not overly disturbing but more fascinating in how the centipede locked onto and finished off the victim. Insects are truly remarkable pieces of evolution and their methods of killing are really remarkable. Much more intricate and varied than those of so called ‘higher’ animals.
If this kind of thing lived anywhere near me, I’d probably carry a pistol loaded with snake rounds on me nearly all the time.
-jcr
Also as I don’t see it mentioned here, did anyone notice the large amount of liquid rapidly accumulating between the centipedes joints? I have a feeling it was secreting all manner of additional toxins from its joints. That’s pretty cool if it was doing that as well.
Hank Fox:
Actually I do believe this is the case. It does seem some bad reactions to some stimuli has an evolutionary origin as a survival mechanism. For example, the things most people are classically afraid of are spiders, heights, deep water, snakes and large dogs. It’s more than likely these were the sorts of animals that gave our ancestors nightmares and keeping away from them was good common sense.
There are probably a couple of reasons, the first being that the mouse is likely to have been bought ‘fresh’ from a pet shop. It’s likely to be used to cages and similar, but would never have encountered a predatory animal in its life. It probably had no clue what was about to happen.
The second thing is that mice, like many rodents are remarkably inquisitive to new things in their environment. They’ll typically go and investigate the object to see if its food or similar. A non-moving large centipede doesn’t seem to be much of a threat to the mouse, which really doesn’t realise what is going on until the centipede lunges at it. By that point it is far too late and once grabbed it was basically over.
Dude. You believe in Imaginary Knives? Weird.
Of course Imaginary Knives are real. Shakespeare mentions one in a play that also has plenty of historical figures in it, so clearly they must exist.
“Keep telling us how you don’t hate religion. . .or God.”
He has as much right to see everything as evidence that there are no gods, as you have that it is a particular one.
About Scolopendra, I still remember the fascination I had when I saw my first pickled one in a natural museum. But I was more nauseated by the liver worms from an actual autopsy…
“the things most people are classically afraid of are spiders, heights, deep water, snakes and large dogs.”
And wasps, IMO. Or maybe I think so because I have never had any particular fear but some people seem nervous around them.
It seems to be reinforced or weakened by experience. Most stuff, including centipedes, you get used to as a child, even after a bite or two. But my mother, who was afraid for spiders and snakes, reinforced that for me as a child so it took a while to get rid of it when I was old enough to understand my prejudice.
I am so very, very glad there is a square-cube law.
Yes, Max, I think we can ALL be grateful for the square-cube law! But I shudder to think about the giants in the Carboniferous. Two-foot wingspanned dragonflies! Ack!
You know, it’s funny, I’ve always liked myriapods, despite a general aversion to creepy-crawlies, because I used to think they were harmless. HA!
Uhoh.
I emailed the link to this video to my brother when I found it somewhere else…
Thing is, I didn’t have the sound on when I watched it so I didn’t know the mouse was screaming.
My brother is going to hate me now.
The hardback of the Ancestor’s Tale that I got out of the library had a good number of illustrations in it – not everything, but a reasonable number.
I now have a ‘huge vicious centipede phobia’. Uuuuah.
Demoman wrote:
Demoman:
Somebody posted the following link for a Cheney hunting accident comment
about canned hunts-
http://www.argentinadove.com/argentina_dove_hunting.htm
Look at the pile of birds at the hunter’s feet. Do you think that guy is actually going
to eat all those birds? Only a human would do something like this.
At least the centipede ate what it killed….
At any rate it’s all good or at least Noah and God thought so enough
to save a centipede pair from the Great Flood……right?
More examples of voracious animals:
http://realindy.com/canhunt.htm
————————————————————————————————————————
Canned hunts feature penned, drugged deer
Outdoor TV personality Jimmy Houston was a customer
by Don Jordan
Published Jan. 30, 2005. Updated 4/26/05
It probably comes as no surprise that one of ESPN’s outdoors television personalities, Jimmy Houston, filmed a canned deer “hunt” at Bellar’s Place. He was just one of many “hunters” who shot deer that were drugged, baited or herded into pens to be shot.
———————————————————————————————————————-
Here’s a movie of a pack of voracious Homo sapiens (trying to) kill and (probably)
not eating a lion:
http://www.limestonemedia.com/lion-hunt-video.htm
“Also as I don’t see it mentioned here, did anyone notice the large amount of liquid rapidly accumulating between the centipedes joints? I have a feeling it was secreting all manner of additional toxins from its joints. That’s pretty cool if it was doing that as well.”
What was going on there exactly? I noticed it too, but thought it was getting nice and plumped up from all the yummy mouse goo. Either it kept getting fatter, or it just kept looming larger in my mind. Any entomological insight?
What was going on there exactly? I noticed it too, but thought it was getting nice and plumped up from all the yummy mouse goo. Either it kept getting fatter, or it just kept looming larger in my mind. Any entomological insight?
It isn’t uncommon for several species of milipede and centipede to secrete toxins from between their joints. Giant milipedes are noted for secreting copious amounts of cyanide, which lemurs (I think) deliberately harass them to do so they can use the secretions to clean their fur. I would imagine that these secretions are for defensive purposes, to discourage being attacked by a predator and when attacking just to make things worse for the prey.
About 7 in the evening, I was sitting totally on my own at a rest area in the Kimberley, WA (top left on a map of Australia) during my recent long long cycle ride round the continent when I felt something on my leg. Normally one would just brush it off, but I didn’t for some reason. I looked down, and there was a Very Large Centipede there. About 7 or 8″ long. On my bare leg. I’m not normally squealsome or squeamish… but I have to admit I yelped and kicked out my leg…
I actually saw this a few years back on a Discovery Channel special. They had a few short tapes of invertabrates feeding on vertabrates. They started with a sea snail tagging a small fish. They moved on to a giant mantid snagging a hummingbird. And finished it off with the centipede/mouse clip.
“Spine” shuddering!
Local rumour in Seychelles had it that the giant centipede’s sting was so painful, victims would pour boiling water on themseves in an attempt to dull the pain.
Nahh NP i live in mexico while on vacation in the south coast i saw a centipede that size being harassed and eaten by a pig just out of its den.
Pigs rule !! :)
From Beyond It Came…..the unspeakable hunger that knows *no* bounds….
beware…*beware*…..
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/03/23/wings040323.html
——————————————————————————————————-
Man dies after chicken wing-eating contest
Last Updated Tue, 23 Mar 2004 19:02:14 EST
CBC News
REGINA – Autopsy results are expected this week in the case of a
man who died in a Regina bar after taking part in a spicy chicken wing-eating contest.
The 36-year-old man, whose name was not released, collapsed after
participating in the contest at JD’s Cafe and Nightspot.
JD’s holds an annual contest in which participants try to eat the greatest
number of spicy wings.
Following last Friday’s event, witnesses said one of the contestants
was dragged to the back of the bar. “Everyone thought he was sick or passed out,”
said Rob Knippelberg.
——————————————————————————————————-
Ahh, the giant centipede. Love those things. Back in my more youthful days, hiking about the SUperstition Mountains in Arizona, I caught one of those guys sauntering off with an exemplar individual of one of the Rana species, a tree frog snack was in its future.
I grew up in southeast Texas (google “Big Thicket”) where these sorts of critters, along with snakes, spiders, fire ants, wasps, scorpions, are part of the scenery. I never walk outside without shoes on.
They are fun to stalk and photograph, though. My favorites are the jumping spiders. They are tiny but have great personalities. Tigers the size of pencil erasers.
Oh cmon that creature is what? 26 cm?
U want viciousness look no further, take a raccoon and see what happens to Scolopendra with all and the poisonous fangs.
BTW had years ago a crazy friend that had a even crazier raccoon that was several times fed spiders, snakes n of course centipedes.
The sound was like u eating a bunch of popcorn u understand?
Paul: Your “y” and “o” keys seem to be failing.
“I would imagine that these secretions are for defensive purposes, to discourage being attacked by a predator and when attacking just to make things worse for the prey.”
Hmm. Looking at the toxin explanation, I would suggest it could be a preemptive defense when eating, since the centipede, and especially its mouth parts, are otherwise… occupied.
“the giant centipede’s sting was so painful”
I should think so. Where I live, centipedes range up to merely 2-3 cm, and are nontoxic AFAIK, but they do give the meanest bite of all bugs when provoked. (Excepting the horse fly, but he is hunting to eat parts of you.)
I’m never letting my cats outside again. Maybe not my dog either.
Or, as is noted in the comments, god is a righteously evil being.
Or, god is a Deistic God. One who is infinitely remote and irrelevant to existence, and who doesn’t care one way or the other about suffering (or very little). Nothing about the universe is logically inconsistent with such a being (indeed, even if they are flying spaghetti monsters)
Poor little mouse. I wonder how many succumb in a similar way everyday?
MissPrism: Hey, masochists must be flocking to visit the Seychelles!
I came across one of these while mowing the lawn here in Austin a few years ago. These things definitely tap into some sort of primal willies that your run of the mill tarantula or scorpion does not. Very primitive looking. This scolopendra was about 10″ and very fast. It went up a tree before I could corral it, so I went back to mowing. When I finished up I discovered it had come down and I had inadvertantly mowed the top of its head off. It lived for several days, then ended up in a jar of alcohol for a middle school science class. My front yard also has tarantulas that are just gorgeous, and lovely, lovely geckos. A pesticide free front yard is a lot more entertaining.
Things like this make me glad I live up here, and discourage me from going anyplace deserty or tropical. On the other hand a man in Northern Saskatchewan was apparently killed by wolves back in November. http://www.cbc.ca/sask/story/wolf-attack051110.html
Chickens will eat centipedes too. Peck their heads off first, they will, then its down the hatch.
Man, that’s creepy… I agree with tim: things like that make me glad that I don’t live near the tropics or the desert. Hooray for Canadian winters! :)
Oh, and that guy who was killed by wolves? He was a student in my program, a year ahead of me. It was sort of newsworthy around here for a little, since A) my town is moderately large but not very exciting, and B) he was eaten by wolves. Kind of a bizarre way for an engineer to go.
Is it possible to get the video downloaded somehow?
For me the fascination tipped out the gross factor. But I do recall having a centipede run up the leg of my jeans on a trip to outback Australia. Only a little guy; three or four inches I guess. I set a new world record for speed of undressing in public.
This item & discussion on MetaFilter gives pointers on how to download videos from various places:
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/49857
Note that this video is linked from Youtube. You can also go directly to youtube.com and search for “scolopendra”. They have more about our multi-legged friends there besides that particular video.
We don’t have those kinds of creepy crawly things in Finland. I would almost feel left out, but I actually only feel kind of relieved :-)