The world’s smallest snake has reemerged from hiding after nearly two decades.
The Barbados threadsnake, which measures 3-4 inches long, was “lost” to science for about 20 years, as researchers had not made a verified sighting of the reptile since 2006. But during an ecological survey in March, the snake was found in central Barbados, carefully tucked under a rainforest rock.
“I was making a joke and in my head I said, ‘I smell a threadsnake,'” Justin Springer, a program officer at the biodiversity nonprofit Re:wild, said in a news release about the finding. “I just had a feeling, but I couldn’t be sure because we turned over a lot of rocks before that and we saw nothing.”
During the survey, conducted by Re:wild and the Barbados Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification, Connor Blades, a project officer for the ministry, flipped over a rock that was trapped under a tree. To much surprise, under the rock was an earthworm and a tiny snake, according to the news release.
Blades took the snake back to the University of the West Indies to examine it, where he discovered that the reptile was a Barbados threadsnake. He then returned the snake to the forest.
The Barbados Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification had been searching for the threadsnake, and several other native reptiles, for more than a year as part of a project focused on conserving local reptiles, Blades told USA TODAY.
The threadsnake happened to be part of a “double discovery” for the team that day, he said. In addition to searching for the threadsnake, the team was looking for a jack-in-the-box tree, a broadleaf evergreen known for growing in one single location on Barbados, Blades added. The team discovered the tree shortly before the threadsnake.
An effort to rediscover ‘lost’ species
The Barbados threadsnake had previously been included in Re:wild’s Search for Lost Species, a list of more than 4,300 plants, animals and fungi that have not been officially sighted or documented in at least 10 years.
Since launching the program in 2017, Re:wild, in conjunction with other wildlife organizations, has rediscovered at least 15 species, including the Omiltemi cottontail rabbit, De Winton’s Golden Mole and Wallace’s Giant Bee. As of July 24, the list on the Re:wild website did not include the Barbados threadsnake.
Why is the Barbados threadsnake so rare?
Several factors may contribute to the rarity of the Barbados threadsnake. The snake reproduces sexually, and females only lay one egg at a time.
“If they’re small and they can’t find other treadsnakes because they don’t travel very far, then they aren’t mating and they’re not replacing themselves in populations and the population is dwindling,” Blades said.
Additionally, threadsnakes’ natural habitat is under attack, with 98% of Barbados’ primary forest having been cleared for agriculture, specifically sugar cane, over hundreds of years since colonization, according to Re:wild.
When asked why he returned the threadsnake to the forest after examination, Blades said there wasn’t a need to keep it, as threadsnakes must be killed to determine their sex and age.
“I didn’t want to take the easy way to just kill it and not have to go back. I mean, it’s the only one that we’ve seen in 20 years. I felt uneasy preserving it, to be honest.”
Blair Hedges was the last one to officially spot a Barbados threadsnake, back in 2006. In total, only a handful of sightings have been confirmed, dating back to 1889, according to the news release.
What’s next?
Scientists still know very little about the Barbados threadsnake, Blades said, but now that there’s knowledge they are still around, scientists can enact more holistic conservation efforts to consider them.
“I think the discovery is just the tip of the iceberg,” Springer told USA TODAY. “It’s kind of a renewed hope that exists and now we can continue to search for it.”
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Lost’ for 20 years, world’s smallest snake rediscovered in Barbados
