Overview

• In March, a joint team from the Environment Ministry of Barbados and re:wild located an 8–10 cm threadsnake beneath a stone in central Barbados.
• Researchers confirmed its identity through microscopic examination at the University of the West Indies, noting distinctive pale orange lateral stripes and vestigial lateral eyes.
• Females lay only a single egg per clutch, giving the world’s smallest snake a critically low reproductive rate.
• The species’ worm-like appearance, blindness and resemblance to invasive Brahmin worm snakes have fueled its decades-long elusiveness.
• Conservationists and local authorities are calling for enhanced forest protection and dedicated population monitoring to safeguard the critically threatened reptile.