There is something about snakes, maybe their shape or how badly they have been portrayed in history, that makes a lot of people completely freak out when they see them. If this is your case, I must warn you... that this is not about a snake!
I must accept that I am awful in recognizing or finding reptiles. Although I never had a strong interest in them, but still I enjoy very much every opportunity to learn about them, especially up close. This is why I didn't hesitate to approach when my friend KC, a trained herpetologist, caught something in her hands.
While I was thinking how cool it is to find a snake, K.C identified it is a Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis) — "It is not a snake! Can you believe that?" — No, I could not. But the closer I looked the more I confirmed it. There was something in its eyes that didn't look quite like a snake. Suddenly the animal blinked, and I had a Eureka moment. It can blink because it has eyelids, a trait that snakes do not have! Slow Worms are legless lizards. When you live inside burrows, it can be beneficial to not have limbs. This is already an impressive trait, but I found more and more impressive things about this animal. Just as other lizards, Slow worms can self-amputate a piece of the tail to deceive predators. If it escapes successfully the tail will regenerate, although the process is very slow and can only regrow 5-16 mm of tissue. It also has an unconventional reproduction. Although variable, most reptiles give birth to an egg which contains the developing embryo. Female Slow Worms instead give birth to live babies that formed inside her body.
It is exactly because I never find them that I treasure even more these close encounters I can have with reptiles, and also to have friends like KC who are trained in herpetology and know how to properly hand these fantastic animals.
📑 References and further info:
Bryant SV; Bellairs Ad'A. (1967). "Tail regeneration in the lizards Anguis fragilis and Lacerta dugesii". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 46 (310): 297 - 305.
Ferreiro R; Galán P. (2004). Reproductive ecology of the slow worm (Anguis fragilis) in the northwest Iberian Peninsula. Animal Biology 54 (4): 353 - 371.
📸 Pictures: Irina Formoso
Slow Worm. Bayreuth, Germany (2018).