Common Name: Pangolin Snake

Latin Name: Scolopendra orta

Specimen Sex: Male

First Described: AD 2073

Description and Habitat: Named after the Pangolin anteater (the only known mammal to be covered in keratin scales, previously found throughout Africa and Asia but now extinct), the Pangolin Snake is neither a Pangolin nor a snake, but a highly ferocious millipede. Although their scaly exterior evokes the look of their insectivore namesake, their segmented exoskeleton evolved out of necessity, from the unmineralized chito-protein matrix of their ancestors to an oil-tight, pollution-resistant scabrous covering, allowing them to thrive in the once toxic swamps of northern Mozambique. The country’s province of Cabo Delgado houses some of the largest liquid natural gas reserves in the world, and as such became the focus of intense interest of governments, energy barons, insurgent groups and corporations, at high cost to its environment, wildlife and local communities for most of the 21st century.

Highly agile, Scolopendra orta are able to both run on their __ pairs of legs, or tuck them away into their scaly exterior, affording them snake-like movement when they need to retreat or hide from predators or destructive machinery. Highly territorial, S. orta do not share their local habitat, fighting with rivals to the death. They are opportunistic carnivores, and will eat almost anything they can overpower, using their forcipules (venomous front legs under the head) to grab, envenomate and immobilize prey, often causing the rapid depletion of an already unstable food source and so keeping their numbers in check as well. As a result, they were one of the few animals found around areas of high exploration and extraction activity, until Mozambique became a genuinely independent republic, with ecological sovereignty the main focus of governance, occurring at the beginning of the 22nd century. Since then, a rapid increase in water birds and large reptiles has been recorded, the main predators of Pangolin Snakes, causing their numbers to plummet drastically and they are currently classified as Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List 2147 -1).

Reproduction: Due to their aggressive nature, Scolopendra orta reproduce sexually without direct copulation, instead depositing a spermatophore within their territory, from the “third” appendage between their _ set of legs, then releasing pheromones to entice a female near enough to collect it into her reproductive tract, thereby fertilizing her eggs. No courtship has been witnessed, the first female who manages to collect the eggs without being attacked the winner of the encounter, but she will stay within the male’s territory, protected by him, whilst she coils her body around her 50 – 80 eggs, until they hatch, after one – three months, depending on environmental conditions. They emerge fully formed, moulting every year until they reach adulthood after four years.

Life Span: 10 -15 years.