of world's smallest snake discovered

World's smallest snake discovered: Dr Blair Hedges, a biologist from Penn State University, discovered the world's smallest snake (named Leptotyphlops carlae) on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Measuring just 10cm, the snake is the smallest of the 3,100 known snake species.


The snake is small enough to curl up on a US quarter

The world's smallest snake, averaging just 10cm (4 inches) and as thin as a spaghetti noodle, has been discovered on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The snake, found beneath a rock in a tiny fragment of threatened forest, is thought to be at the very limit of how small a snake can evolve to be. Females produce only a single, massive egg - and the young hatch at half of their adult body weight. This new discovery is described in the journal of Zootaxa.

The snake - named Leptotyphlops carlae - is the smallest of the 3,100 known snake species and was uncovered by Dr Blair Hedges, a biologist from Penn State University, US.