Anguis

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata, Episquamata, Toxicofera
Subordo: Anguimorpha
Infraordo: Neoanguimorpha
Superfamilia: Diploglossa

Familia: Anguidae
Subfamilia: Anguinae
Genus: Anguis
Species (6): A. cephallonica – A. colchica – A. eryx – A. fragilis – A. graeca – A. veronensis

Name

Anguis Linnaeus, 1758: 227

Type species: Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758, by subsequent designation by Fitzinger (1843: 23).
Gender: feminine.

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio Decima, Reformata. Tomus I. Holmiæ (Stockholm): impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. 824 pp. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542 BHL Reference page.
Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus primus. Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel: Wien. vi + 106 pp. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Gvoždík, V., Jandzík, D., Lymberakis, P., Jablonski, D., Moravec, J. 2010. Slow Worm, Anguis fragilis (Reptilia: Anguidae) as a species complex: Genetic structure reveals deep divergences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 55(2): 460–472. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.007 Paywall Reference page.
Gvoždik, V., Benkovský, N., Crottini, A., Bellati, A., Moravec, J., Romano, A., Sacchi, R. & Jandzík, D. 2013. An ancient lineage of slow worms, genus Anguis (Squamata: Anguidae), survived in the Italian Peninsula. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69(3): 1077–1092. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.05.004 Paywall Reference page.
Jablonski, D., Jandzík, D., Mikulíček, P., Džukić, G., Ljubisavljević, K., Taznakov, N., Jelić, D., Thanoy, E., Moravec, J. & Gvoždík, V. 2016. Contrasting evolutionary histories of the legless lizards slow worms (Anguis) shaped by the topography of the Balkan Peninsula. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16: 99. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0669-1 Open access Reference page.
Mikulíček, P., Jablonski, D., Páleník, M., Gvoždík, V. & Jandzík, D. 2018. Characterization of microsatellite markers in the genera Anguis and Pseudopus (Reptilia: Anguidae). Salamandra 54(2): 158–162. PDF Reference page.
Lavin, B.R. & Girman, D.J. 2019. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence dating in the Glass Lizards (Anguinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 133: 128–140. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.12.022 Paywall Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Anguis . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 8 November 2017.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Blindschleichen
English: Slow Worm
français: Orvet
Slowworms[3] (also called blindworms) are a small genus (Anguis) of snake-like legless lizards in the family Anguidae. The genus has several living species, including the common slowworm, the Peloponnese slowworm, and the Italian slowworm (Anguis veronensis). There are also known fossil species.

Description

Slowworms are typically grey-brown, with the females having a coppery sheen and two lateral black stripes, and the males displaying electric blue spots, particularly in the breeding season. They give birth to live young, which are about 4 cm (1.6 in) long at birth and generally have golden stripes.

Slowworms are slow-moving and can be easily caught, which has given rise to the folk etymology that the "slow" in slowworm is the same as the English adjective slow; the actual origin is a proto-Germanic root which simply means "slowworm" (cf. German Schleiche).[3] Like many lizards, slowworms can shed their tails to distract predators. The tail regrows, but never fully.[4] Principal predators are birds, badgers, hedgehogs, foxes and domestic cats.[5][6][7]

The average British slowworm can grow to 45 cm when fully mature and weigh about 100 g, 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 wild, and the record age for a slowworm in captivity is 54 years (Copenhagen Zoo).

The specific name fragilis (fragile) comes from the tendency of this species to shed its own tail, when threatened by predators, or if handled too roughly (caudal autotomy).
Morphology

Although slowworms much resemble snakes, and are often mistaken for such, they are actually lizards that have lost their limbs completely with evolution.

Slowworms can be distinguished from snakes by several features: their eyelids, which snakes lack entirely; 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.
Habitat

Slowworms 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.[7] They range across most of Europe, and into parts of Asia, but they are restricted to temperate and humid habitats. They hibernate from October to February/March, both communally and solitarily, and sometimes share hibernating sites with other reptiles.
Diet

Slowworms have grooved teeth which allow them to grab and swallow whole their soft invertebrate prey, such as slugs, hairless caterpillars, other insects, spiders, and earthworms.[8] Snails are usually avoided, except when they are still very young and the shell can be broken easily.
Protected status

Slowworms are protected in the United Kingdom and Poland.
Classification

Subfamily Anguinae

Genus Anguis
Anguis cephallonica, Peloponnese slowworm – Werner, 1894[9]
Anguis fragilis, slowworm — Linnaeus, 1758[10]
Anguis veronensis, Italian slowworm — Pollini, 1818[11]
†Anguis rarus Klembara & Rummel, 2017[1]
†Anguis stammeri Brunner, 1957[1]
†Anguis polgardiensis Bolkay, 1913[1]

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.[12]
Extant species
Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Benny Trapp Anguis cephallonicus.jpg Anguis cephallonica Peloponnese slowworm Greece
Anguis fragilis, Blindschleiche IMG 7458.JPG Anguis fragilis common slowworm Europe
Anguis veronensis Italian slowworm Italy, France[13]
References

Jozef Klembara; Michael Rummel (2018). "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". Geological Magazine. 155 (1): 20–44. Bibcode:2018GeoM..155...20K. doi:10.1017/S0016756816000753. S2CID 132414700.
ITIS.gov
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". ("Slowworm". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2017.)
"RSPB - Wildlife Garden A to Z". Retrieved 30 May 2014.
"Wild about gardens - Slow worm". Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
"Wildlife Watch - Beast of the month". Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
"The Wildlife Trusts - Slow worm". Retrieved 30 May 2014.
"RSPB - Ask an expert". Retrieved 30 May 2014.
iucnredlist.org - Anguis cephalonnica
Herpetofauna.co.uk
Renet, Julien; Lucente, Daniela; Delaugerre, Michel; Gerriet, Olivier; Deso, Grégory; Abbattista, Chiara; Cimmaruta, Roberta (2018). "Discovery of an Italian slow worm (Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818) population on a Western Mediterranean Island confirmed by genetic analysis". Acta Herpetologica. 13 (2): 165–169. doi:10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-23290.
"Anguis graeca".
Speybroeck, Jeroen; Beukema, Wouter; Dufresnes, Christophe; Fritz, Uwe; Jablonski, Daniel; Lymberakis, Petros; Martínez-Solano, Iñigo; Razzetti, Edoardo; Vamberger, Melita; Vences, Miguel; Vörös, Judit; Crochet, Pierre-André (2020). "Species list of the European herpetofauna – 2020 update by the Taxonomic Committee of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica". Amphibia-Reptilia. 41 (2): 139–189. doi:10.1163/15685381-bja10010.