Excerpts from Jim Conrad's
Naturalist Newsletter

from the March 19, 2008 Newsletter written in the community of 28 de Junio, in the Central Valley 8 kms west of Pujiltic, Chiapas, MÉXICO
about 800 meters in elevation, ± LAT. 16° 18'N, LONG. -92° 28'W.
A GOUDOT'S THREAD SNAKE

Leptotyphlops goudotii, Goudot's Thread Snake

The next day Leuccio came to me with a plastic Coke bottle holding the little critter shown in my hand above.

That's a snake. The head is at the top, the yellow-spotted end being the tip of the tail. The yellow spot might cause predators to attack the snake's tail instead of his head.

If you were with me in the Yucatan you may recall the Yucatan Dwarf Centipede Eater we ran across there one day, much smaller than this one. You can see that unbelievably small Yucatan snake and read about it at www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/snk_cent.htm.

NOTE: In 2015 I am notified that this species has been shifted to the genus Epictia. It's Epictia goudotii
After I published the picture it was identified by Levi Gray, a grad student at the University of California at Davis, as Leptotyphlops goudotii. Species in the genus Leptotypholops are known as Blind Snakes. One name for this species is the Goudot's Thread Snake.

Leptotyphlops species are non-venomous, blind snakes found throughout North and South America, Africa and southwestern Asia, with about 86 species being recognized. Otherwise our species seems to be little known.

By the way, my impression is that with the arrival of the wet season snakes are becoming easier to see and species other than Speckled Racers are emerging.