Overview

• The Barbados threadsnake measures just 7.5–10 centimeters long and about as wide as a spaghetti noodle, making it the world’s smallest-known snake.
• After 20 years without a confirmed sighting, it was rediscovered on March 20 under a rock in central Barbados during a Conserving Barbados’ Endemic Reptiles survey and officially verified through detailed microscopic examination of its pale orange stripes and head scales.
• The blind, burrowing snake feeds on termites and ants and lays only one slender egg per clutch, reflecting its low reproductive rate and highly cryptic lifestyle.
• Expanded field surveys will chart its distribution across remnant forest patches and assess how habitat fragmentation may hinder the snake’s ability to find mates.
• Conservation planning has begun to protect its critically endangered habitat, where 98% of primary forests have been cleared and several other endemic species have already vanished.