Barbados threadsnake

The Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae) is a tiny snake that lives only on the island of Barbados. It is one of the smallest snakes in the world, even smaller than many people's hands.

Because it is so small, scientists find it very interesting.

This snake does not hurt humans. It helps keep the island clean by eating tiny pests like springtails. Its tiny size makes it a special and unique animal. The Barbados threadsnake shows how animals can live in very small spaces and still help their home.

Taxonomy and etymology

The Barbados threadsnake was identified as a separate species in 2008 by S. Blair Hedges, a herpetologist from Pennsylvania State University. He named the snake after his wife, Carla Ann Hass, who helped find it. Before this, some snakes were in museums but were thought to be a different kind.

In 2008, the Barbados threadsnake was found to be one of the smallest snake species in the world. The first examples were found under rocks in a forest, showing just how small this snake can be.

Description

The Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae) is one of the smallest snakes in the world. Adults are about 10 cm (almost 4 inches) long, including their tail. The largest one found was a little longer at 10.4 cm. It is very thin, about as wide as a spaghetti noodle. You can tell this snake apart from another small snake, Indotyphlops braminus, by its special back lines and smaller size.

Diet

The Barbados threadsnake mainly eats termites and ant larvae. These small snakes depend on these tiny insects for food.

Reproduction

Threadsnakes lay eggs to have babies. The Barbados threadsnake mother lays one big egg at a time. When the baby snake comes out of the egg, it is about half as long as its mother.

Small snakes like the Barbados threadsnake have big babies compared to bigger snakes. The babies of the biggest snakes are only one-tenth the length of their mothers. But the babies of the smallest snakes are usually about half the length of their mothers.

Conservation status

Little is known about the Barbados threadsnake, T. carlae, because it is very small and hard to find. Barbados no longer has its original forests, which the snake likely needs to survive. Because only a few examples have ever been found, people worry about the snake’s future.

The snake was thought to be lost until March 20, 2025, when it was rediscovered after almost twenty years without any sightings. A worker from the Barbados Ministry of Environment found it under a rock and confirmed it with a microscope. The rediscovery was announced on July 23, 2025.