Scientist says size matters

2008-08-03 22:15

Bridgetown - Scientists have identified the world's smallest snake - a reptile about 10cm long and as thin as spaghetti that was found lurking under a rock on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The new species, named Leptotyphlops carlae, is smaller than any of the other 3 100 previously known snake species, according to Pennsylvania State University biologist Blair Hedges, who also previously helped find the world's smallest frog and lizard.

It is one of about 300 different species of threadsnake and is a dark brownish-gray with two yellow stripes, Hedges said. It was determined to be a newly identified species due to genetic differences from other snakes and its unique color pattern and scales, he said.

The snake, which is not venomous, eats termites and termite larvae but little is known about its behavior, including whether it is nocturnal, Hedges said. It was found in 2006 in a forest on the eastern side of Barbados.

"It was under a rock. We got two of them," Hedges said in a phone interview. "It's about as wide as a spaghetti noodle."

The snake is about 5mm shorter than another species from the Caribbean island of Martinique.

"When you get down that small, every millimetre counts," said Hedges, whose findings were published in the scientific journal Zootaxa on Sunday.

Hedges thinks the new one may be at or near the minimum possible size for snakes. It lays a single slender egg that takes up a major part of the mother snake's body, he said.

- Reuters