Saturday 4 August 2007

Slowworm (Anguis fragilis)

OTHER NAMES: Common Slow Worm, Deaf Adder, Blindworm
Latin Etymology: Anguis ("snake") fragilis ("fragile")
Adult female Slowworm (subspecies A. f. fragilis) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - July 2019

Featured Subspecies: Anguis fragilis fragilis
Weight: < 100g  /  Length: < 50cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern 

Despite the leglessness of this species - it is not a snake, but rather a member a family of a group of lizards which independantly lost their tails.  They are secretive and live much of their lives hiding beneath rocks and logs.  Primarily feeding on invertibrates like slugs and worms, and have unusually smooth scales for a lizard to enable their serpentine locomotion.  They are among the most long lived animal species in the UK, with a captive specimen known to have lived for at least 54 years.

Related Species:
Order: Squamata
Family: Anguidae
Genus: Anguis
SUBSPECIES: A. f. fragilis, A. f. colchicus 

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - An widespread but secretive resident.
 - Seen at Trevose Head  in July 2019. 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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