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Abbreviation Legend
- (CE) - Criticially Endangered
- (CI) - Critically Imperiled
- (E) - Endangered
- (I) - Introduced
- (IM) - Imperiled
- (NT) - Near Threatened
- (T) - Threatened
- (V) - Vulnerable
- (**) - Recent Classification Change
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Leptotyphlopidae or Blind Snakes of the United States
Also called worm snakes or thread snakes, the slender blind snake are indeed blind, but possess tuny vestigial eyes that appear as black dots beneath an irregularly shanped ocular scale. These snakes are cahracterized by a short blunt head, short tail, and slender cylindrical body covered with close fitting, overlapping smooth scales arranged in 14 rows around the body. They lack enlarged belly scales. Most range in size from 5" to 15". The teeth are only present in the lower jaw.
These snakes are seldom seen as they are burrowers and crevice dwellers that may emerge around sundown and crawl about on the surface. They feed largely on termites and ants. Females lay small clutches of long slender eggs.
There are 5 species of Blind Snakes in the United States, 4 are natrive and 1 is Introduced.
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