
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.