Many people may have wondered what the largest snake in the world is, but what about the top three smallest snakes in the world? The smallest snake in the world was discovered in 2008, and is a fairly well know snake due to the internet coverage it received. However, finding the other two smallest snakes in the world took a fair amount of research.
It appears the top three smallest snakes in the world all arrive in an adult length of 20cm (8 inches) or less!
Lets Begin the count down.
The largest of these three tiny snakes is known as the Flat-Headed Snake (Tantilla Gracilis) and is found primarily in North America.
This tiny little devil is a whopping 20cm (8 inches)! It has a flattened head, minute eyes, and black smooth scales in fifteen rows. It lives in rocky, wooded, limestone hill sides. It’s usually plain tan, or yellow-brown in color. Its belly is bright salmon or orange in the middle as it fades to white toward the sides. It’s mostly nocturnal, and found under rocks, logs, or other debris around the spring and fall seasons. These snakes tend to create deep burrows, and they can lay up to 4 eggs; usually around April or May. They like to eat scorpions, centipedes, spiders, and other arthropods. It is venomous, and has rear facing fangs. However, they do not bite humans when handled. Due to their tiny heads it’s nearly impossible for them to bite humans.
Number two in the list of the top three smallest snakes in the world is the Brahminy blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus).
This snake is a maximum length of 16.5cm (6 inches)! Its color varies from shiny silvery gray to a purple grayish brown. This snake is a harmless, non-venomous snake found mostly in Africa and Asia. It’s easily mistaken for a worm because it’s about the same size. Although it does have eyes, it is almost entirely blind and locates prey through tasting the air by flicking its tongue. It has twenty rows of scales that cover the entire body. This little snake is also known as the flower pot snake.
Finally, the number one smallest snake in the world is known as the Barbados thread snake (Leptotyphlops carlae).
The largest one yet discovered Barbados thread snake was 10.4cm (4.09 inches)! This species was discovered in 2008. The Biologist that discovered it was named S. Blair Hedges from Pennsylvania State University. The name given of Carlae was in honor of his wife Clara Ann Hass which was also on the discovery team. These tiny brown and black snakes live by eating termite and ant larvae. It is only known to be found on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean. It appears to need a forest habitat; however, there is no forest remaining on the island. There is some concern for the future of this species due to a lack of forest habitat.
These three tiny snakes are the three smallest snakes in the world!