Slow Worm
Anguis fragilis • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Anguimorpha, Family: Anguidae, Subfamily: Anguinae, Genus: Anguis, Species: A. fragilis
Widely distributed across Europe, extending eastward into western Asia and parts of the Caucasus.
Look up Slow Worm in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Anguimorpha, Family: Anguidae, Subfamily: Anguinae, Genus: Anguis, Species: A. fragilis
Conservation
Listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Populations face local declines due to habitat fragmentation, intensification of agriculture, loss of suitable sheltering sites, and predation by domestic pets such as cats.
Physical Description
Displays a smooth, highly polished, cylindrical body covered in non-overlapping cycloid scales that give it a metallic or glass-like sheen. Coloration is typically brown, bronze, grey, or coppery, often with darker flanks and sometimes a faint vertebral stripe. Note that this animal is actually a legless lizard rather than a true snake, identifiable by the presence of movable eyelids, external ear openings, and a tail that can autotomize.
Size & Dimensions
The pictured specimen appears to be a subadult or small adult measuring approximately 15 to 20 cm. Typical adult size ranges from 40 to 50 cm total length, with exceptionally large specimens reaching up to 50 cm or more.
Habitat
Favors open woodlands, damp grasslands, heathlands, moorlands, and transitional ecotones such as forest edges, clearings, and overgrown gardens. Frequently utilizes microhabitats offering cover, including dense vegetation, logs, rocks, and artificial debris.
Diet & Feeding
Specialized feeder focusing primarily on slow-moving invertebrates, particularly slugs, earthworms, snails, and occasionally caterpillars or other soft-bodied insects. Forages actively within leaf litter and dense ground cover, utilizing a chemosensory tongue-flicking method to locate prey.
Reproduction
Ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young encapsulated in thin membranes from which they immediately emerge. Females typically produce a litter ranging from 6 to 26 young, usually during the late summer months.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with true snakes found in the same geographic range, such as the Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca) or young Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix). Unlike snakes, the slow worm possesses eyelids, external ear openings, and a much stiffer, less undulating body posture.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Populations face local declines due to habitat fragmentation, intensification of agriculture, loss of suitable sheltering sites, and predation by domestic pets such as cats.
Cultural Significance
Historically subject to folklore and superstition due to its limbless form, often mistaken for a snake. Ecologically, it plays a valuable role in regulating invertebrate populations such as garden slugs and snails.
Notable Features
Exhibits caudal autotomy, allowing it to drop a portion of its tail to distract predators. Despite its serpentine appearance, it is taxonomically classified as a lizard that has evolutionarily lost its limbs.