The diminutive snake, which is a blind snake like the Brahminy blind snake, measures just 3 to 4 inches in length.
An ecological survey in Barbados has rediscovered the smallest known snake species in the world, the Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae). The snake was found under a rock in central Barbados in March. The herping expedition was conducted by the Barbados Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification with assistance from Re:wild, an organization that exists to protect wild things.
The diminutive snake, which is a blind snake like the Brahminy blind snake (Indotyphlops braminus), measures just 3 to 4 inches in length, and is very rarely seen. The scientists say that the species has been seen only a handful of times since 1889. The Barbados thread snake reproduces sexually. The female produces just one egg.
Barbados threadsnake. Photo by Connor Blades
“Barbados threadsnakes are blind snakes, so they’re very cryptic,” said Connor Blades, a project officer with the Ministry of Environment in Barbados, who helped rediscover the threadsnake. “They’re quite rare also, it seems. There have only been a handful of confirmed sightings since 1889, so there are not many people who have ever seen it, unfortunately.”
“I began to look over the snake and it was clear to me that I really needed to take it to a microscope to get a proper look at it,” Blades said. “The morphological differences between the threadsnake and blind snake are really difficult to tell by eye, particularly because it was the first threadsnake we had seen, so we weren’t familiar with the species yet.”
The snake was examined at the University of the West Indies where it showed all the characteristics of a threadsnake. It featured a pale orange dorsal lines for head to tail, eyes on the side of the head and a rostral scale on its nose. It was then returned to the origin in which it was found and released.
