Comments on: Earth’s Smallest Snake Discovered on Barbados

By: lonewolfnan

lonewolfnan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:52:52 +0000

Just wanted to mention that Mr. Coleman had this story up on this website about 24 hours before CNN mentioned it. Another feather in his (and members of the crypto crowd) cap.

By: Trapster

Trapster — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:45:19 +0000

The Brahminy blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) is as small as or smaller than this newly discovered species. I know because I catch them regularly.

Maybe someone forgot to check the reference books with all this fanfare.

They are from overseas but came to the US and other parts of the world via potting soil in plants. I find them here in Miami often.

For more info check http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/snake/fact%20pages/brahminy_blind/brahminy.html“>here and http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/Ramphotyphlopsbraminus.htm“>here.

By: Grant

Grant — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:27:55 +0000

Every time I hear about snakes in a threatened area, I end up wishing the movie “Stanley” would come true - it was a “Willard” variation, about trained rattlesnakes killing poachers and polluters and so on. Maybe it’s a ruthless “eco-nazi” kind of wish, but I still indulge it.

By: PhotoExpert

PhotoExpert — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:18:10 +0000

Really cool discovery!!! Awesome! I just hope they do something to protect and preserve the environment where the snake was discovered. Could be good for tourism as an added draw for visiting Barbados.

By: Richard888

Richard888 — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:24:46 +0000

I sure hope that this unique species has a healthy population. Barbados is a small island and much of its land has been turned to sugarcane farms. If hundreds of rocks had to be lifted before a second specimen was found this could mean a big percent of the forest area. The government should be encouraged to make it their national animal so that its survival is guaranteed.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:16:49 +0000

Very interesting discovery. It’s nice to take a break from the big animal discoveries that usually take center stage and take a moment to appreciate the small ones. I don’t think the smaller animal discoveries get nearly as much coverage in the general public as they should. I guess it’s just not that surprising to people that something so small could remain hidden.

Still, very exciting find from an evolutionary point of view. The expression of giganticism as well as extreme dwarfism in certain species of animals and what specific evironmental conditions led to these adaptations are of great interest to me. Also, I’m happy to see attention drawn to the evolutionary development concerning size of offspring. Often when people look at the way animals have evolved, they tend to focus on the adaptations exhibited in adult animals without realizing that evolution expresses itself in the embryonic and immature stages as well. Good to see this addressed here. Fascinating stuff.

By: Lightning Orb

Lightning Orb — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:47:48 +0000

That is a small snake; I could see this being mistaken for a worm every time it was distantly sighted. Sort of brings to mind how many more species might be out there that simply haven’t been noticed. We do have a tendancy to assume the things we deal with are all known - encounters with large potential undiscoverds like Bigfoot can serve as a lesson that we know really a lot less than we like to think. Think how many species like this snake could fit in one Bigfoot; thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands… And this is just one little planet in practical infinity; and maybe this is even just one dimensional phase of infinity. Point in case, the tiniest discoveries can teach a lot about the largest possibilities. Weird to think how every time you set your foot down in the grass you could be wiping out the last of some never-before-seen species. It’s cool we can actually find and scientifically catagorize a few from time to time