Snake family · Slender blindsnakes (threadsnakes)
Leptotyphlopidae
Among the smallest snakes in the world, thin as a thread.
About the Leptotyphlopidae family
Threadsnakes are minuscule burrowing snakes, some no thicker than a pencil lead, that hunt ant and termite colonies. The family includes the Barbados threadsnake, often cited as the smallest snake species known.
- Where they live
- The Americas, Africa, and southwestern Asia.
- How to recognize one
- Extremely thin and worm-like, uniformly colored, with vestigial eyes. Resembles a shiny piece of string.
- Danger to people
- Harmless. No venom and far too small to harm a person.
Species (82)
Amaral's Blind SnakeTrilepida koppesiHarmless
Bailey's Blind SnakeTrilepida anthracinaHarmless
Big-scaled Blind SnakeTrilepida macrolepisHarmless
Black Blind SnakeEpictia magnamaculataHarmless
Black Blind SnakeEpictia goudotiiHarmless
Black Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops nigricansHarmless
Boulenger's Blind SnakeMyriopholis macruraHarmless
Cairo Blind SnakeMyriopholis cairiHarmless
Cape Thread SnakeRena boettgeriHarmless
Cape Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops conjunctusHarmless
Caqueta Blind SnakeTrilepida brevissimaHarmless
Collared Blind SnakeHabrophallos collarisHarmless
Common Peru Blind SnakeEpictia diaplociaHarmless
Dainty Blind SnakeTrilepida dimidiataHarmless
Damara Thread SnakeNamibiana labialisHarmless
Degerbol's Blind SnakeSiagonodon borrichianusHarmless
Distant's Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops distantiHarmless
Epictia amazonicaHarmless
Epictia bakewelliHarmless
Epictia borapeliotesHarmless
Epictia clinorostrisHarmless
Epictia fallaxHarmless
Epictia phenopsHarmless
Epictia resetariHarmless
Epictia striatulaHarmless
Epictia vonmayiHarmless
Espíritu Santo Blind SnakeTrilepida salgueiroiHarmless
Forest Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops sylvicolusHarmless
Freiberg's Blind SnakeEpictia australisHarmless
Gambia Blind SnakeMyriopholis algeriensisHarmless
Giant Blind SnakeRena maximaHarmless
Goggle-eyed worm snakeLeptotyphlops macropsHarmless
Guayaquila Blind SnakeEpictia guayaquilensisHarmless
Guyana Blind SnakeEpictia tenellaHarmless
Hook-snouted worm snakeMyriopholis macrorhynchaHarmless
Incognito Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops incognitusHarmless
Ionides’ worm snakeMyriopholis ionidesiHarmless
Jacobsen's Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops jacobseniHarmless
Joshua's Blind SnakeTrilepida joshuaiHarmless
Klauber's Blind SnakeEpictia subcrotillaHarmless
Latin American Blind SnakeEpictia albipunctaHarmless
Long-tailed Thread SnakeMyriopholis longicaudaHarmless
Mato Grosso Blind SnakeSiagonodon cupinensisHarmless
Merker's thread SnakeLeptotyphlops merkeriHarmless
Nurse's Blind SnakeMyriopholis nursiiHarmless
Pantanal ThreadsnakeEpictia vellardiHarmless
Parker’s worm snakeMyriopholis parkeriHarmless
Peter's Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops scutifronsHarmless
Rio Grande do Sul Blind SnakeEpictia munoaiHarmless
Rose Blind SnakeEpictia rufidorsaHarmless
Sahel Thread SnakeMyriopholis narirostrisHarmless
Samana ThreadsnakeMitophis calypsoHarmless
San Salvador Blind SnakeEpictia columbiHarmless
Santa Lucía ThreadsnakeTetracheilostoma breuiliHarmless
Seven-striped Blind SnakeSiagonodon septemstriatusHarmless
Shaba thread snakeLeptotyphlops kafubiHarmless
Sindh Thread SnakeMyriopholis blanfordiHarmless
Slender Thread SnakeNamibiana graciliorHarmless
Southern Blind SnakeRena unguirostrisHarmless
Taylor's Blind SnakeEpictia aterHarmless
Texas Blind SnakeRena dulcisHarmless
Three-colored Blind SnakeEpictia tricolorHarmless
Trans-Pecos BlindsnakeRena segregaHarmless
Trilepida fuliginosaHarmless
Trilepida janiHarmless
Trilepida pastusaHarmless
Tschudi's Blind SnakeEpictia tesselataHarmless
Two-lined Blind SnakeTetracheilostoma bilineatumHarmless
Vindum's Worm SnakeEpictia vindumiHarmless
Wagler's blind snakeEpictia albifronsHarmless
Western Thread SnakeNamibiana occidentalisHarmless
Western ThreadsnakeRena humilisHarmless
Wilson's Blind SnakeMyriopholis wilsoniHarmless- No photoBarbados ThreadsnakeTetracheilostoma carlaeHarmless
- No photoBrazilian Blind SnakeTrilepida brasiliensisHarmless
- No photoDugand's Blind SnakeTrilepida dugandiHarmless
- No photoEpictia pauldwyeriHarmless
- No photoEpictia rioignisHarmless
- No photoEpictia schneideriHarmless
- No photoGarcía's Blind SnakeEpictia antoniogarciaiHarmless
- No photoRoux-Estève’s Worm SnakeMyriopholis rouxestevaeHarmless
- No photoTwo-colored Blind SnakeTricheilostoma bicolorHarmless
Genera in the Leptotyphlopidae family
8 genera with two or more species. Open one to read about the group and browse all its snakes.
Keep learning
- What Is a Snake? Anatomy and the BasicsA clear overview of what makes a snake a snake: limbless body plan, anatomy, evolution from lizards, species diversity, and why they are ectothermic.
- How Snakes Move, Hunt, and EatHow snakes move without legs, hunt as ambushers or active foragers, kill by constriction or venom, and swallow prey wider than their head.
- What Do Snakes Eat?All snakes are carnivores. Learn what snakes eat, how diet changes with size and age, how often they feed, and how they hunt and swallow prey.
- Venomous vs Nonvenomous: How to Tell the DifferenceThe folk rules for telling venomous snakes apart, where each one fails, and why location-based identification beats guessing by sight.