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Although they are lizards, slow worms have lost their limbs completely and are often mistaken for snakes. Slow-worms typically grow to between 40 and 50cm, with the females slightly larger than the males. The tail makes up around half of its length, but is indistinguishable from the body.
Slow worms, as their name indicates, are slow moving and can be easily caught. Like many lizards, slow-worms can shed their tails to distract predators(autotomy). The tail grows back, but rarely to the length of the original.
Slow-worms can be distinguished from snakes by several features: their eyelids, which snakes lack entirely; their small ear openings which again snakes lack; and their tongues, which are notched in the centre rather than completely forked like a snake's.
Slow-worms are typically grey-brown, with the females having a coppery sheen and two lateral black stripes, and the males displaying electric blue spots, particularly in the breeding season. They are viviparous (give birth to live young); the young are about 4cm long at birth and generally have golden stripes.
Slow-worms have grooved teeth which allow them to grab and swallow whole their soft invertebrate prey, such as slugs, hairless caterpillars and earthworms. Snails are usually avoided, except when they are still very young and the shell can be easily broken.
Slow-worms are frequently found in garden compost heaps, or any place where it is both warm and protected. They range across most of Europe, and into parts of Asia, although they are restricted to temperate and humid habitats. They hibernate from October to February/March, both communally and solitarily, and sometimes share hibernating sites with other reptiles.
They are protected in the British Isles.
Classification
Subfamily Anguinae
- Genus Anguis
- Anguis cephallonica - Peloponnese Slow Worm
- Anguis fragilis
