First video of smallest snake captures mystery cousin

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

You might mistake it for a skinny earthworm, until it sticks out its forked tongue. Recently discovered in the Caribbean by evolutionary biologist Blair Hedges from Pennsylvania State University, the new species is a close relative of the world's smallest snake, which Hedges identified a few years ago. This time, armed with a video camera, Hedges was able to film the spaghetti-like animal when he spotted it on a dead leaf. "It's almost certainly the first video of any thread snake species from the Caribbean," he says.

The snake caught on video is a few millimetres longer than its record-breaking relative, which ranges from 100-110 millimetres long. It has yet to be described, a task that Hedges will undertake in the coming year. "It has quite an interesting ecological story," he says.

Hedges is renowned for spotting tiny critters. He previously discovered the world's smallest gecko as well as the tiniest frog. ?

If you enjoyed this video, watch a boa strangle a rat by sensing its pulse or see how a snail's shell can save it from a snake bite.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/219ff7bb/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cnstv0C20A120C0A70Cfirst0Evideo0Ecaptures0Emystery0Ecousin0Eof0Esmallest0Esnake0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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