World’s smallest snake makes huge comeback

A snake so small it may very well be mistaken for a worm has been noticed in Barbados, practically twenty years after it was thought to have been “misplaced” to science.

The Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae) was discovered hiding underneath a rock in central Barbados throughout an ecological survey in March by the Barbados Ministry of the Setting and Nationwide Beautification and conservation group Re:wild.

“Barbados threadsnakes are blind snakes, in order that they’re very cryptic,” stated Connor Blades, a challenge officer with the Ministry of Setting in Barbados who helped make the discovering, in an announcement.

“They’re fairly uncommon additionally, it appears. There have solely been a handful of confirmed sightings since 1889, so there will not be many individuals who’ve ever seen it, sadly.”

Measuring simply three to 4 inches lengthy (eight to 10 centimeters) when totally grown—tiny sufficient to nearly match on a US quarter coin—the Barbados threadsnake is the world’s smallest species of snake.

It’s distinguished by orange stripes alongside its again, eyes on the perimeters of its head and a small scale on its snout.

“When you find yourself so accustomed to searching for issues and you do not see them, you’re shocked whenever you truly discover it,” stated Justin Springer of Re:wild, who made the invention alongside Blades.

“You may’t consider it. That is how I felt. You do not need to get your hopes up too excessive.”

The breakthrough got here after greater than a 12 months of looking out, because the pair upturned rocks trapped beneath a tree root.

The tiny snake, which was discovered alongside an earthworm, was taken to the College of West Indies for cautious examination underneath a microscope—it intently resembles the Brahminy blind snake, an invasive species, so the discovering needed to be validated—earlier than it was returned to the forest.

Solely 2% of the Caribbean island’s main forest stays intact, with the remainder cleared for agriculture because the begin of the colonial period 400 years in the past.

The Barbados threadsnake stays significantly weak because it reproduces sexually and females lay a clutch of just one egg. Feminine Brahminy blind snakes, in contrast, can produce fertile eggs with out mating.

“The threadsnake’s rediscovery can also be a name to all of us as Barbadians that forests in Barbados are very particular and wish safety,” stated Springer. “Not only for the threadsnake, however for different species as nicely. For crops, animals and our heritage.”

© 2025 AFP