Anguis

Slow worms<ref name=AHD>The "slow-" in slowworm is distinct from the English adjective slow ("not fast"); the word comes from Old English slāwyrm, where slā- means "slowworm" and wyrm means "serpent, reptile". (Template:Cite encyclopedia)</ref> (also called blindworms and hazelworms) are a small genus (Anguis) of snake-like legless lizards in the family Anguidae. The genus contains five extant living species, including the common slow worm (A. fragilis), the eastern slow worm (A. colchica), the Greek slow worm (A. graeca), the Peloponnese slow worm (A. cephalonnica), and the Italian slow worm (A. veronensis). There are also known fossil species.

Description

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 give birth to live young, which are about Template:Convert long at birth and generally have golden stripes.

Slow worms are slow-moving and can be easily caught, which has given rise to the folk etymology that the "slow" in slow worm is the same as the English adjective slow; the actual origin is a proto-Germanic root which simply means "slowworm" (cf. German Schleiche).<ref name=AHD/> Like many lizards, slow worms can shed their tails to distract predators. The tail regrows, but never fully.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Principal predators are birds, badgers, hedgehogs, foxes, and domestic cats.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Beast>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Trust>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The average British slow worm can grow to 45 cm when fully mature and weigh about 100g, females being slightly larger than the males. The tail makes up around half its length, but is indistinguishable from the body. It has been recorded to live for up to 30 years in the wild, and the record age for a slow worm in captivity is 54 years (Copenhagen Zoo).

The specific name fragilis (fragile) comes from the tendency of this species to shed its own tail (caudal autotomy) when threatened by predators or if handled too roughly.

Morphology

Although slow worms much resemble snakes, and are often mistaken for such, they are actually lizards that have lost their limbs completely with evolution.

Slow worms can be distinguished from snakes by several features: their eyelids, which snakes lack (having brille instead); 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. Further, snakes have an opening in their upper jaw to allow their tongue through, which slow worms lack.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Habitat

Slow worms live in any habitat that is warm and protected, such as woodland, grassland, and heathland; they are frequently found in garden compost heaps, sometimes on purpose for pest control.<ref name=Trust /> They range across most of Europe and into parts of Asia, but 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.

Diet

Slow worms have grooved teeth which allow them to grab and swallow whole their soft invertebrate prey, such as slugs, hairless caterpillars, other insects, spiders, and earthworms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Snails are usually avoided, except when they are still very young and the shell can be broken easily.

Protected status

Slow worms are protected in the United Kingdom, Poland, Croatia, and Slovakia.

Classification

Template:Update Subfamily Anguinae

• Genus Anguis
  • Anguis cephallonica, Peloponnese slow worm – Werner, 1894<ref>iucnredlist.org - Anguis cephalonnica</ref>
  • Anguis colchica, eastern slow worm – (Nordmann, 1840)
  • Anguis fragilis, common slow worm — Linnaeus, 1758<ref>Herpetofauna.co.uk</ref>
  • Anguis graeca, Greek slow worm – Bedriaga, 1881
  • Anguis veronensis, Italian slow worm — Pollini, 1818<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Template:ExtinctAnguis rarus Klembara & Rummel, 2017<ref name=Klembara2018>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Template:ExtinctAnguis stammeri Brunner, 1957<ref name=Klembara2018/>
  • Template:ExtinctAnguis polgardiensis Bolkay, 1913<ref name=Klembara2018/>

Gvoždík et al. (2013) distinguished five genetic species of Anguis: graeca, colchica, fragilis, cinerea, and cephallonica, but a review of the genus has not yet been completed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Extant species

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Distribution	Range map
File:Benny Trapp Anguis cephallonicus.jpg	Anguis cephallonica	Peloponnese slow worm	southern Greece	File:Anguis cephallonica distribution (countries only).png
File:Anguis colchica.jpg	Anguis colchica	eastern slow worm	eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and northern Anatolia and Iran	File:Anguis colchica distribution (countries only).png
File:Anguis fragilis, Blindschleiche IMG 7458.JPG	Anguis fragilis	common slow worm	western, central, and parts of southeastern Europe	File:Anguis fragilis distribution (countries only).png
File:K. Kalaentzis - Anguis graeca.jpg	Anguis graeca	Greek slow worm	Greece, Albania, and Macedonia	File:Anguis graeca distribution (countries only).png
File:Anguis veronensis from the vicinity of Nice by Fabien Piednoir.jpg	Anguis veronensis	Italian slow worm	Italy and southeastern France<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	File:Anguis veronensis distribution (countries only).png

External links

• Template:Cite Americana