View source for Biology:Anguis fragilis

{{short description|Species of reptile (legless lizard)}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Anguidae.jpg
| taxon = Anguis fragilis
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/157249/5060016</ref>
| authority = [[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Biology:10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
}}
'''''Anguis fragilis''''' is a reptile native to [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]]. It is also called a '''deaf adder,''' a '''slowworm''',<ref>The "slow-" in slowworm is distinct from the English adjective ''slow'' ("not fast"); the word comes from Old English ''slāwyrm'', where ''slā-'' means 'earthworm' or '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> a '''blindworm''', or regionally, a '''long-cripple,''' to distinguish it from the [[Biology:Peloponnese slowworm|Peloponnese slowworm]]. These [[Biology:Legless lizard|legless lizard]]s are also sometimes called '''common slowworms'''. The "blind" in blindworm refers to the lizard's small eyes, similar to a blindsnake (although the slowworm's eyes are functional).

Slowworms are [[Biology:Fossorial|semifossorial]]<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/BIE/BIE_docs/ms_07-49.pdf| title=Feeding state and selected body temperatures in the slowworm| format=pdf| volume=18| pages=59–62| journal=Herpetological Journal| year=2008| accessdate=2009-06-03| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617154220/http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/BIE/BIE_docs/ms_07-49.pdf| archivedate=17 June 2009| url-status=dead}}</ref> (burrowing) [[Biology:Lizard|lizard]]s, spending much of their time hiding underneath objects. The skin of slowworms is smooth with scales that do not overlap one another. Like many other lizards, they [[Biology:Autotomy|autotomize]], meaning that they have the ability to shed their tails to escape predators. While the tail regrows, it does not reach its original length. In the UK, they are common in gardens,  and can be encouraged to enter and help remove pest insects by placing black plastic or a piece of tin on the ground. On warm days, one or more slowworms can often be found underneath these heat collectors. One of the biggest causes of mortality in slowworms in suburban areas is the domestic cat, against which it has no defence.

== Physical traits ==
[[File:20130505-slow worms-014-wiki©CD.jpg|thumb|Close-up of the head of a slowworm]]
These reptiles are mostly active during the twilight and occasionally bask in the sun, but are more often found hiding beneath rocks and logs. They are [[Biology:Carnivore|carnivorous]] and, because they feed on [[Biology:Slug|slug]]s and worms, they can often be found in long grass and other damp environments.

The females give birth to live young (ovoviviparous birth). In the days leading up to birth, the female can often be seen basking in the sun on a warm road.

Although these lizards are often mistaken for snakes, a number of features differentiate them. The most important one is that they have small eyes with [[Biology:Eyelid|eyelid]]s that, like other lizards, blink. Unlike snakes, they may also have visible [[Medicine:Ear|ear]]s. They shed their skin in patches, whereas most snakes shed their  skins whole. Slowworms may also shed their tails (autotomy) as a defence mechanism, by breaking one of their tail [[Biology:Vertebra|vertebra]]e in half. The pattern of a slowworm's ventral scales is also different from that of a snake's.

===Size and longevity===
Adult slowworms grow to be about 50&nbsp;cm long, and are known for their exceptionally long lives; the slowworm may be the longest-living lizard, living about 30 years in the wild and up to at least 54 years in captivity (this record is held by a male slowworm that lived at the Copenhagen Zoo from 1892 until 1946, the age when first obtained is unknown).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newnaturalists.com/product/9780007308156/The+British+Amphibians+and+Reptiles|title=The British Amphibians and Reptiles|last=Smith|first=Malcolm|date=1951|website=|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916052705/http://www.newnaturalists.com/product/9780007308156/The+British+Amphibians+and+Reptiles|archive-date=2017-09-16|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/animal_magnetism/notasnake.html | title = Slow Worm}}</ref> The female often has a stripe along the spine and dark sides, while the male may have blue spots dorsally. Juveniles of both sexes are gold with dark brown bellies and sides with a dark stripe along the spine.

==Protected status in the UK==
In the United Kingdom, the slowworm has been granted [[Biology:Conservation status|protected status]], alongside all other native British reptile species. The slowworm has been decreasing in numbers, and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to intentionally kill, injure, sell, or advertise to sell them is illegal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/281.shtml| title=BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Slow worm | publisher=BBC |accessdate=2007-05-16| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070504002435/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/281.shtml| archivedate= 4 May 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69 |title=Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 |publisher=Legislation.gov.uk |accessdate=20 September 2015 }}</ref>

==Ireland==
The slowworm is not native to Ireland, but is believed to have been illegally introduced in the 1970s. It has been sighted only in parts of County Clare, mainly in the Burren region.<ref>[http://www.biology.ie/group.php?m=lizard&g=79 Irish Wildlife Trust Lizard Survey]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npws.ie/media/npwsie/content/images/protectedsites/sitesynopsis/SY001926.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203030313/http://www.npws.ie/media/npwsie/content/images/protectedsites/sitesynopsis/SY001926.pdf |archivedate=2014-02-03 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0318/business/slow-worm-makes-its-entrance-225783.html Slowworm makes its entrance, by Dick Warner. Irish Examiner, March 18, 2013]</ref>

==Taxonomy==
*''Anguis fragilis'' <small>[[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Biology:10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small>
**''A. f. fragilis'' <small>[[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Biology:10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small>
**''A. f. colchicus'' <small>Nordmann, 1840</small>

The subspecies ''A. f. fragilis'' is found all over Europe, while ''A. f. colchicus'' is found in southeastern Europe, the [[Earth:Caucasus|Caucasus]], and [[Religion:Iran|Iran]].

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
Image:Slow-worm-close.jpg|Slowworm close
Image:Slow Worm In Hand.JPG|Slowworm in hand
Image:Common_slowworm_(Anguis_fragilis).jpg|A slowworm head 
Image:blindschleich77.jpg
Image:Stålorm.jpg
Image:Slow worm in grass.ogv|A slowworm moving through grass. This individual is a juvenile, as evidenced by its golden colouration.
Image:PL SuperMarker Anguis fragilis (Slow worm) rejected tail.ogv|Slowworm rejected tail
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Biology:Glass lizard|Glass lizard]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

{{Taxonbar|from=Q183660}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anguis Fragilis}}
[[Category:Anguids]]

{{Sourceattribution|Anguis fragilis|1}}