Editing Anguis

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossilrange|Early Eocene|present|ref=<ref name=Klembara2018/>}}
| image = Anguidae.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Anguis fragilis]]''
| taxon = Anguis
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]<ref>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=209030 ITIS.gov]</ref>
| type_species = ''[[Anguis fragilis]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = *''[[Anguis cephallonica|A. cephallonica]]''
* ''[[Anguis colchica|A. colchica]]''
*''[[Anguis fragilis|A. fragilis]]''
*''[[Anguis graeca|A. graeca]]''
*''[[Anguis veronensis|A. veronensis]]''
*{{extinct}}''A. rarus''
*{{extinct}}''A. stammeri''
*{{extinct}}''?A. polgardiensis''
| range_map = Anguis-distribution.png
}}

'''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". ({{cite encyclopedia |title=Slowworm |encyclopedia=[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]] |year=2017 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=slowworm }})</ref> (also called '''blindworms''' and '''hazelworms''') are a small [[genus]] ('''''Anguis''''') of snake-like [[legless lizard]]s in the family '''[[Anguidae]]'''. The genus contains five extant living [[species]], including the [[Anguis fragilis|common slow worm]] (''A. fragilis''), the [[Anguis colchica|eastern slow worm]] (''A. colchica''), the [[Anguis graeca|Greek slow worm]] (''A. graeca''), the [[Peloponnese slow worm]] (''A. cephalonnica''), and the [[Anguis veronensis|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 (color)|electric blue]] spots, particularly in the breeding season. They [[viviparous|give birth to live young]], which are about {{convert|4|cm|in|abbr=on}} 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 [[autotomy|shed their tails]] to distract predators. The tail regrows, but never fully.<ref>{{cite web|title=RSPB - Wildlife Garden A to Z|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/wildlifegarden/atoz/s/slowworm.aspx|access-date=30 May 2014}}</ref> Principal predators are birds, badgers, hedgehogs, foxes, and domestic cats.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wild about gardens - Slow worm|url=http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/wildlife/reptiles/slow-worm.aspx|access-date=30 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208154634/http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/wildlife/reptiles/slow-worm.aspx|archive-date=8 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Beast>{{cite web|title=Wildlife Watch - Beast of the month |url=http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/beast-of-the-month-slow-worm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140530203937/http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/beast-of-the-month-slow-worm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 May 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Trust>{{cite web|title=The Wildlife Trusts - Slow worm|url=http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/slow-worm|access-date=30 May 2014}}</ref>

The average British slow worm can grow to 45&nbsp;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 [[species|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 [[Limb (anatomy)|limb]]s completely with evolution.

Slow worms can be distinguished from snakes by several features: their [[eyelid]]s, 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>{{cite web |last1=Duncan |first1=James |title=Species of the day: Slow-worm |url=https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/species-of-the-day-slow-worm |website=Sussex Wildlife Trust |access-date=19 May 2023}}</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 [[habitat]]s. 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 [[slug]]s, hairless [[caterpillar]]s, other insects, spiders, and [[earthworm]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=RSPB - Ask an expert |url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/expert/previous/slowormadvice.aspx |access-date=30 May 2014}}</ref> [[Snail]]s are usually avoided, except when they are still very young and the shell can be broken easily.

==Protected status==
Slow worms are [[protected species|protected]] in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Poland]], [[Croatia]], and [[Slovakia]].

==Classification==
{{Update|section|date=December 2021}}
Subfamily Anguinae
*Genus ''Anguis''
**''[[Peloponnese slowworm|Anguis cephallonica]]'', Peloponnese slow worm&nbsp;– <small>Werner, 1894</small><ref>[http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/61467/all iucnredlist.org - Anguis cephalonnica]</ref>
**''[[Anguis colchica]]'', eastern slow worm – <small>(Nordmann, 1840)</small>
**''[[Anguis fragilis]]'', common slow worm&nbsp;— <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small><ref>[http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/slow_worm.htm Herpetofauna.co.uk]</ref>
**''[[Anguis graeca]]'', Greek slow worm – <small>[[Jacques von Bedriaga|Bedriaga]], 1881</small>
**''[[Anguis veronensis]]'', Italian slow worm&nbsp;— <small>Pollini, 1818</small><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Renet |first1=Julien |last2=Lucente |first2=Daniela |last3=Delaugerre |first3=Michel |last4=Gerriet |first4=Olivier |last5=Deso |first5=Grégory |last6=Abbattista |first6=Chiara |last7=Cimmaruta |first7=Roberta |title=Discovery of an Italian slow worm (Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818) population on a Western Mediterranean Island confirmed by genetic analysis |journal=Acta Herpetologica |date=2018 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=165–169 |doi=10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-23290|doi-access=free}}</ref>
**{{extinct}}''Anguis rarus'' <small>Klembara & Rummel, 2017</small><ref name=Klembara2018>{{Cite journal|author1=Jozef Klembara |author2=Michael Rummel |year=2018 |title=New material of ''Ophisaurus'', ''Anguis'' and ''Pseudopus'' (Squamata, Anguidae, Anguinae) from the Miocene of the Czech Republic and Germany and systematic revision and palaeobiogeography of the Cenozoic Anguinae |journal=Geological Magazine |volume=155 |issue=1 |pages=20–44 |doi=10.1017/S0016756816000753 |bibcode=2018GeoM..155...20K |s2cid=132414700 }}</ref>
**{{extinct}}''Anguis stammeri'' <small>Brunner, 1957</small><ref name=Klembara2018/>
**{{extinct}}''Anguis polgardiensis'' <small>Bolkay, 1913</small><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>{{Cite web|url=https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Anguis&species=graeca|title = Anguis graeca}}</ref>

===Extant species===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution !! Range map
|-
|[[File:Benny Trapp Anguis cephallonicus.jpg|200x200px]] ||''[[Anguis cephallonica]]''|| Peloponnese slow worm|| southern Greece|| [[File:Anguis cephallonica distribution (countries only).png|150x150px]]
|-
|[[File:Anguis colchica.jpg|frameless|200x200px]]
|''[[Anguis colchica]]''
||eastern slow worm|| eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and northern Anatolia and Iran || [[File:Anguis colchica distribution (countries only).png|150x150px]]
|-
|[[File:Anguis fragilis, Blindschleiche IMG 7458.JPG|200x200px]]||''[[Anguis fragilis]]''||common slow worm|| western, central, and parts of southeastern Europe|| [[File:Anguis fragilis distribution (countries only).png|150x150px]]
|-
|[[File:K. Kalaentzis - Anguis graeca.jpg|frameless|200x200px]]
|''[[Anguis graeca]]''
|Greek slow worm
|Greece, Albania, and Macedonia|| [[File:Anguis graeca distribution (countries only).png|150x150px]]
|-
| [[File:Anguis veronensis from the vicinity of Nice by Fabien Piednoir.jpg|frameless|200x200px]]|| ''[[Anguis veronensis]]'' || Italian slow worm || Italy and southeastern France<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Speybroeck |first1=Jeroen |last2=Beukema |first2=Wouter |last3=Dufresnes |first3=Christophe |last4=Fritz |first4=Uwe |last5=Jablonski |first5=Daniel |last6=Lymberakis |first6=Petros |last7=Martínez-Solano |first7=Iñigo |last8=Razzetti |first8=Edoardo |last9=Vamberger |first9=Melita |last10=Vences |first10=Miguel |last11=Vörös |first11=Judit |last12=Crochet |first12=Pierre-André |title=Species list of the European herpetofauna – 2020 update by the Taxonomic Committee of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica |journal=Amphibia-Reptilia |date=2020 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=139–189 |doi=10.1163/15685381-bja10010|doi-access=free|hdl=10261/233406 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>|| [[File:Anguis veronensis distribution (countries only).png|150x150px]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anguis}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Slow-Worm |short=x}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2046334}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Anguis]]
[[Category:Lizard genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]

[[de:Blindschleiche]]