Anguis fragilis
2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Insects, Reptiles and Fish
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| Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 |
Anguis fragilis (the slow worm, slow-worm, slowworm, blindworm or blind worm) is a limbless reptile native to Eurasia.
Slow-worms are lizards. The skin of the varieties of slow-worm is smooth with scales that do not overlap one another. Like some other lizards, slow-worms autotomize, meaning that they have the ability to shed their tails in order to escape predators. The tail regrows, but seldom to its former length.
These reptiles are active during the day and like to bask in the sun. They are carnivorous and, because they feed on slugs and worms, they can often be found in long grass.
The females give birth to live young ( viviparous birth). In the days leading up to birth the female can often be seen basking in the sun on a warm road.
They are common in gardens and can be encouraged to enter and help remove pest insects by placing black plastic or a piece of tin on the ground. On warm days one or more slow worms will often be found underneath these collectors of heat.
Although these lizards are often mistaken for snakes, there are a number of features that differentiate them from snakes. The most important is they have small eyes with eyelids that blink like lizards. This is a feature that is not found in snakes. They also have ears like lizards do, which snakes do not have. They also have notched tongue rather than a forked tongue, which is a common feature of a snake. They shed their skin in patches like other lizards, rather than the whole skin as most snakes do.
Adult slow-worms grow to be about 50 cm long and are known for their exceptionally long life; it has been said that a slow-worm is the longest living lizard, living about thirty years in the wild and up to fifty-four years in captivity. The female often has a stripe along the back and dark sides while the male may have blue spots.
Protected species in the UK
In the United Kingdom the slow worm has been granted protected status, alongside all other native British reptile species. The slow worm has been decreasing in numbers, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, sell or advertise to sell them.
Taxonomy
- Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758
- Anguis fragilis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758
- Anguis fragilis colchicus ( Nordmann, 1840)
The subspecies Anguis fragilis fragilis is found all over Europe, while Anguis fragilis colchicus is found in south-eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Iran.