“Barbados threadsnakes are blind snakes, so they’re very cryptic,” said<\/a> Connor Blades, a project officer with the Ministry of Environment in Barbados who helped make the finding, in a statement.<\/p>\n “They’re quite rare also, it seems. There have only been a handful of confirmed sightings since 1889, so there are not many people who have ever seen it, unfortunately.”<\/p>\n Related: Strange, ‘Long-Lost’ Elephant Shrew Has Been Rediscovered in Africa After 50 Years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Measuring just three to four inches long (eight to 10 centimeters) when fully grown \u2013 tiny enough to almost fit on a US quarter coin \u2013 the Barbados threadsnake is the world’s smallest species of snake.<\/p>\n It is distinguished by orange stripes along its back, eyes on the sides of its head and a small scale on its snout.<\/p>\n “When you are so accustomed to looking for things and you don’t see them, you are shocked when you actually find it,” said<\/a> Justin Springer of Re:wild, who made the discovery alongside Blades.<\/p>\n “You can’t believe it. That’s how I felt. You don’t want to get your hopes up too high.”<\/p>\n The breakthrough came after more than a year of searching, as the pair upturned rocks trapped beneath a tree root.<\/p>\n The tiny snake, which was found alongside an earthworm, was taken to the University of West Indies for careful examination under a microscope \u2013 it closely resembles the Brahminy blind snake, an invasive species, so the finding had to be validated \u2013 before it was returned to the forest.<\/p>\n Only two percent of the Caribbean island’s primary forest remains intact, with the rest cleared for agriculture since the start of the colonial era 400 years ago.<\/p>\n The Barbados threadsnake remains particularly vulnerable since it reproduces sexually and females lay a clutch of only one egg. Female Brahminy blind snakes, by contrast, can produce fertile eggs without mating.<\/p>\n “The threadsnake’s rediscovery is also a call to all of us as Barbadians that forests in Barbados are very special and need protection,” said<\/a> Springer. “Not just for the threadsnake, but for other species as well. For plants, animals and our heritage.”<\/p>\n![\"Worm-sized](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/BarbadosEnvironmentWormSizedSnakeRediscovered-e1753776090269.jpg\")
Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae) was found during an ecological survey. (Blair Hedges\/Re:wild\/AFP)<\/p>\n