Barbados threadsnake

{{Speciesbox

| name = Barbados thread snake

| image = Leptotyphlops_carlae.jpg

| image_caption = An adult Barbados threadsnake on an American quarter dollar

| status = CR

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = Daltry JC, Powell R, Henderson RW (2016). "Tetracheilostoma carlae (errata version published in 2017)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T203637A115351519. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T203637A2769298.en. Downloaded on 26 July 2018.

| genus = Tetracheilostoma

| species = carlae

| authority = Hedges, 2008{{cite journal|url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01841p030.pdf|title=At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles|author=Hedges, S. Blair|author-link=Stephen Blair Hedges|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1841|pages=1–30|date=August 4, 2008|accessdate=2008-08-04| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080813023833/http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01841p030.pdf| archivedate= 13 August 2008 | url-status= live|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1841.1.1|doi-access=free}}

| synonyms = *Leptotyphlops carlae
{{small|Hedges, 2008}}

Tetracheilostoma carlae
{{small|— Adalsteinsson et al., 2009}}
Leptotyphlops carlae
{{small|— Lillywhite, 2014}}
Tetracheilostoma carlae
{{small|— Wallach et al., 2014}}

| synonyms_ref ={{EMBL species|genus=Tetracheilostoma|species=carlae}} www.reptile-database.org.

}}

The Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae) is a species of threadsnake. It is the smallest known snake species. This member of the Leptotyphlopidae family is found on the Caribbean islands of Barbados and Anguilla.

Taxonomy and etymology

The Barbados threadsnake was first identified as a separate species in 2008 by S. Blair Hedges, a herpetologist from Pennsylvania State University.Dunham, Will. Reuters UK (3 August 2008). (See: ¶ 5){{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKN0151253520080803 |title=World's smallest snake is as thin as spaghetti |accessdate=August 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902051450/http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKN0151253520080803 |archivedate=September 2, 2008 |newspaper=Reuters |date=2008-08-03 }} Hedges named the new species of snake in honor of his wife, Carla Ann Hass, a herpetologist who was part of the discovery team.{{cite news|url=http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Worlds_Smallest_Snake_Discovered_on_the_Caribbean_Island_of_Barbados_21414.html |title=World's Smallest Snake Discovered on the Caribbean Island of Barbados |author=Turner, Alice |date=August 3, 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-04 |publisher=eFluxMedia |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806185328/http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Worlds_Smallest_Snake_Discovered_on_the_Caribbean_Island_of_Barbados_21414.html |archivedate=6 August 2008 |url-status=dead }}Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Leptotyphlops carlae, p. 48). Specimens already existed in reference collections in the London Natural History Museum and in a museum in California, but they had been incorrectly identified to belong to another species.

At the time of publication, August 2008, T. carlae was described as the snake species with the smallest adults in the world.{{cite news|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14453-worlds-smallest-snake-discovered.html |title=World's smallest snake discovered |author=Brahic, Catherine |date=August 3, 2008 |accessdate=2008-08-03 |publisher=New Scientist |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901182720/http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn14453-worlds-smallest-snake-discovered.html |archivedate=1 September 2008 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=World's smallest snake found in Barbados|url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/ps-wss072808.php|author=Kennedy, Barbara K.|publisher=Penn State University|accessdate=2008-08-03| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080905235530/http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/ps-wss072808.php| archivedate= 5 September 2008 | url-status= live}} The first scientific specimens taken by the research team were found under rocks in a forest. The snake is thought to be near the lower size limit for snakes, as young snakes need to attain a certain minimum size to find suitable food.

Description

Image:Relative-offspring-size-hi-res.jpg

File:Tetracheilostoma_carlae_(Leptotyphlops_carlae).JPG

The average total length (including tail) of T. carlae adults is approximately 10 cm (3.94 inches), with the largest specimen found to date measuring 10.4 cm (4.09 inches) in total length. The snake is said by Hedges to be "about as wide as a spaghetti noodle." The photograph above shows L. carlae on a quarter dollar, a coin with a diameter of 24.26 mm (0.955 inches). The specimen weighed 0.6 grams.{{cite journal|url=https://mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01841p030.pdf|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1841|pages=1–30|date=2008|title=At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles|author=S. Blair Hedges|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1841.1.1 |s2cid=15584371 |access-date=16 March 2022}}

Diet

T. carlae is thought to feed primarily on a diet of termites and ant larvae.

Reproduction

Threadsnakes (Leptotyphlopidae) are oviparous, laying eggs to reproduce. The female of this snake species, T. carlae, produces only one large egg at a time. The emerging offspring is about half the length of the mother.

Small species of snakes such as T. carlae have relatively large new-born offspring compared to adults. The offspring of the largest snakes are only one-tenth the length of an adult, whereas offspring of the smallest snakes typically are one-half the length of an adult (see figure). The tiny snakes produce only one, massive egg – relative to the size of the mother.

Conservation status

Little is known about the ecology, abundance, or distribution of this species, T. carlae. Essentially, Barbados has no original forest remaining, however, this native species very likely requires a forest habitat for survival since it evolved in the presence of forests. Based on the small number of known specimens and its distribution apparently being restricted to eastern Barbados, the continued survival of the species is a concern.