![]() Slender blind snakes can live in many different habitats from dry deserts and humid rainforests to rocky mountainsides, but within those habitats, they always seek at least slightly damp areas. Certain species also live on the island of Socotra in the northwestern Indian Ocean, in the West Indies, and on islands off the coast of Africa, Mexico, and Central America. North American species live in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Slender blind snakes live in South, Central, and North America, as well as Africa and southwest Asia. A few species have another odd feature in their skeletons: The top of the skull is missing. In slender blind snakes, the leftover bones usually do not poke through the skin. ![]() In boas and other snakes that have similar structures, the bony bits sometimes stick out of the body near the vent and look like small claws. Inside the body, the skeleton of most slender blind snakes includes pieces of hip and upper leg bones that are leftover reminders of its ancient ancestors, which had working hips and legs. In one unusual species, known as the western slender blind snake, the largest of its snout scales glows under ultraviolet light. Most have rounded snouts, but some have hooked and/or pointed snouts. The tail in almost all species of slender blind snakes has a sharp spine on the end. ![]() The tail on a snake begins at the vent, which is a slitlike opening on the underside and toward the rear of the animal. The tails vary in length from about 2 percent of the overall body length to 19 percent, but most have tails that take up about 5 to 10 percent of the total length. A few South American species are colorfully striped. They may be pink, light or dark brown, black, or gray. Most slender blind snakes have backs that are all one color. Slender blind snakes are the only snakes that have teeth on the lower jaw, but none on the upper jaw. Another characteristic that sets the slender blind snakes apart from the other blind snakes-and indeed from all other snakes-is their teeth. The typical adult ranges from 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 centimeters) in length and no more than 0.05 ounces (1.4 grams) in weight. The largest species in the family, such as the western slender blind snake (also known as the southwestern thread snake) and the western thread snake, may reach more than 15 inches (38 centimeters) in length, but most of the 93 species in the family are much smaller. This gives them the appearance of moving string or thread. The bodies of most species within this family are no wider than 0.2 inches (0.5 centimeters), and some are as little as 1/25th of an inch (1 millimeter) wide. While all are slim, the slender blind snakes are the thinnest. ![]() The slender blind snakes are different from the other two families in several ways. In the three blind snake families, only the scales on the snout are larger. In most snakes, the belly scales, or ventrals, are noticeably larger. Species within the three blind snake families have small eyes and bodies that are covered with small scales that are the same size on the belly as they are on the sides and back. Members of this family look much like blind snakes of the family Typhlopidae and the early blind snakes of the family Anomalepididae, since all have tube-shaped bodies that are about the same diameter from head to tail, and all have short heads with mouths that open downward instead of right on the front end of the head. Slender blind snakes, which are also known as thread snakes or worm snakes, are thin snakes with smooth, shiny scales. SLENDER BLIND SNAKES, THREAD SNAKES, OR WORM SNAKES: Leptotyphlopidae TEXAS BLIND SNAKE ( Leptotyphlops dulcis): SPECIES ACCOUNT
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