English: Iberian Worm Lizard

Scientific: Blanus cinereus (Vandelli, 1797)
Castilian: Culebrilla ciega
Catalan: Serpeta cega
Portuguese: Cobra-cega

Family: Amphisbaenidae
Distribution: Spain and Portugal

The Iberian worm snake looks incredibly like a worm. Young examples are the same size as earth worms, they are pink in colour and live in the ground where they burrow in the soil, under tree stumps and rocks and feed on worms, ants, small insects and their larvae.

This unusual creature can reach 29cm in length, its slim body is cylindrical and covered in small scales that give an appearance of rings. The head looks like the body, ending in a blunt nose with eyes that are vestigial tiny black dots and a forked tongue. Sense of smell and hearing are used to detect prey.

They live over most of Spain and Portugal, excluding the north and east. Most often encountered between 200m and 700m above sea level but also found at 1,800m in the Sierra de Nevada, Granada. They are active in their underground galleries from February through to November and can sometimes be seen on the surface where they are at risk of being eaten by many forms of birds etc.

One form of defence is to wrap themselves around a twig and cling on. In some areas of Iberia people wrongly think that they are venomous and kill them on sight. This is unfounded and may be exterminating a species that little study has been done on - due to its subterranean lifestyle.

This specimen is an adult of 25cm found in rocky soil near an old tree stump. The pathways made by old tree roots (once rotted out) aid by creating deep access routes into heavy, rocky or dry soils.