World's smallest snake sighted for first time in 20 years

Worlds smallest snake sighted for first time in 20 years
World's smallest snake sighted for first time in 20 years 

The world's smallest snake has been rediscovered in Barbados almost 20 years after its last sighting.

During an ecological survey in March, the researchers found the Barbados threadsnake – measuring up to 3-4 inches – after two decades, as the reptile was last seen in 2006.

Justin Springer, a program officer at the biodiversity nonprofit Re:wild noted in a press release, "I was making a joke and in my head I said, 'I smell a threadsnake.'"

"I just had a feeling, but I couldn't be sure because we turned over a lot of rocks before that and we saw nothing," he shared.

During the survey, conducted by Re:wild and the Barbados Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification, Connor Blades, a project officer for the ministry, flipped over a rock that was trapped under a tree.

According to the news release, to his surprise, under the rock was an earthworm and a tiny snake.

Blades took the snake back to the University of the West Indies to examine it, where he discovered that the reptile was a Barbados threadsnake. He then returned the snake to the forest.

The Barbados threadsnake had previously been included in Re:wild's Search for Lost Species, a list of more than 4,300 plants, animals, and fungi that have not been officially sighted or documented in at least 10 years.

Since launching the program in 2017, Re:wild, in collaboration with other wildlife organisations, has rediscovered at least 15 species, including the Omiltemi cottontail rabbit, Wallace's Giant Bee, and De Winton's Golden Mole.

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