It is less than 4 inches long and it's similar to a piece of spaghetti. Penn State University biologist found this snake on 2006, S. Blair Hedges discovered it hidden under a rock on an island on the Caribbean sea. This biologist named it Leptotyphlops carlae or L. carlae in honor of his wife named Carla. Or this snake is also called worm snake.There are 3 worm snakes known on Earth-one on London and two on a Caribbean museum in Martinique.
To verify if this specimens are from a new specie they measured an adult snake, at least one male and one female from each other specie and compared the sizes and weights of the snakes (the snakes that they measured were all the species known).
Then Hedge studied all the physical characteristics of the snake including color patterns and scales, and finally he could prove that those snakes are a new specie.
Well, while larger snakes can put 100 eggs at one time and this snake can put only one enormous egg at one time. This egg measures half-size of the full grown mini snake."Although the snake looks like a worm, Hedges was sure it wasn't. "[Scientist who study amphibians and reptiles] have a sixth sense about these animals," he said. "We know a snake when we see one."
Many of the world's smallest animals have been discovered in the Caribbean.
The smallest lizard was discovered in the Dominican Republic and the smallest frog, bird and bee were all found in Cuba. The largest animals are also found on islands.Most of the L. carlae's habitat has been destroyed by deforestation. Hedges believes that shrinking habitat could drive the animal to extinction. "New and interesting species are being discovered on Caribbean islands, despite the very small amount of natural forests remaining," Hedges said.
By: Claudia Atticot
Adapted by: Me...Lucía Zarama
