Pity the poor slow worm. Misunderstood, misidentified and, most of all, misnamed. Slow worm, blind worm, deaf adder: it’s been called all of these and yet is none of them. Firstly, it’s not a worm. It does spend much of its time underground – in search of real worms – but, for the slow worm, being worm-shaped is a clever evolutionary adaptation, not a primitive body design. Secondly, it can move quickly. So neither slow, nor worm, the slow worm is the UK’s sole species of legless lizard.
Which means it’s not a snake. It’s true the slow worm shares some characteristics with its reptilian cousin: both have a long, slender body; both have scales (they belong to the scientific order Squamata, meaning ‘scaly’); and both have a forked tongue.…