#wormsnake

Believe it or not, it is still Snake Saturday, though this time with the Eurasian Blind Snake (Xerotyphlops vermicularis). Snakes are divided into two infraorders true snakes (Alethinophidia) and wormsnakes (Scolecophidia). The Eurasian Blind Snakes belong to the latter, and are in fact the only wormsnakes native to Europe [1].

They are burrowing snakes, and are generally found in open areas with sparse vegetation [2]. This has included being beneath stones at both the base and the top of a mountain [3], under stone fragments within the city walls of a castle [4], in a garden house, and in a bed in someone’s house [5]. They were originally discovered in Greece [3], but have since been found as far east as Tajikistan [2].

They are around 20-30 cm in length [4, 5]. Aside from all of the locations above, they have also been found in termite mounds and ants nests [2]. Unsurprisingly, they mostly eat ants and other small invertebrates [3]. They may also be found in holes pre-burrowed by actual worms [2].

Their labelling has been home to other species as well in the past, including some such as X. syriacus that were synonymised and then subsequently desynonymised (a process which isn’t helped when the museum holding the original specimen is destroyed in a bombing in World War II). Even now, the high genetic diversity within the Eurasian Blind Snake leaves suspicions open that there may be several species hiding under this name [6].

I was super hyped on one day getting a pet wormsnake.

So i drew this and i still dont know why i drew it.

Its really tiny. Just credit me if you use it as a reference for a wormsnake, but i think i’ve pretty much credited myself.