Animals. This snake is so small that it could be mistaken for an earthworm!
The Tetracheilostoma carlae is the world's smallest snake. It was rediscovered on a Caribbean island.
The Barbados thread snake is no more than 10 centimeters long. Photo AFP/Blair Hedges
It's been found. The Barbados thread snake has been spotted on this Caribbean island, nearly 20 years after the last documented sighting.
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It's so small it could be mistaken for an earthworm. At eight to ten centimeters long when fully grown, the Tetracheilostoma carlae, as it is known in Latin, is the smallest snake in the world.
It was spotted under a rock in March 2025, after more than a year of searching, during a mission by the Barbados Ministry of the Environment and the environmental protection association Re:wild. "There have only been a handful of sightings since 1889," said Connor Blades, a ministry official involved in the mission, in a statement.
The Barbados threadsnake is particularly vulnerable: the female lays only one egg at a time. Its rediscovery is "a reminder to us Barbadians that Barbados' forests are so special and need to be protected," said Justin Springer of the NGO Re:wild. Only 2% of the primary forest on this Caribbean island remains intact.
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