(Washington) The Snake Fil de la Barbado, so small that we could confuse it with an earthworm, was seen on this Caribbean island, almost 20 years after the last documented observation.
Eight to ten centimeters after adult, Tetracheilostoma Carlae, of its Latin name, is the smallest snake in the world.
It was under a pebble that he was spotted in March 2025, after more than a year of research, during a mission of the Barbadian Ministry of the Environment and the Environmental Protection Association Re: Wild.
“There has been only a handful of observations since 1889,” said Connor Blades, an agent of the ministry involved in the mission.
The snake threads the barbados is particularly vulnerable: the female lays only one egg at a time.
Its rediscovery is “a reminder, for us inhabitants of Barbados, that the forests of the Barbados are so special and require being protected,” said Justin Springer, of the NGO Re: Wild.
Only 2 % of the primary forest of this Caribbean island remains intact.