NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Slow Worm
Anguis colchica (Nordmann, 1840)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Anguis colchica
Omid Mozaffari · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Anguis colchica, the eastern slow worm, is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae found in eastern and northern Europe and Asia. It is easily confused with the common slow worm, due to their physical similarities, and the proximity of their distribution.
Wikipedia contributors, Anguis colchica; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:48:46.498293+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anguis colchica (Nordmann, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Nordmann, 1840)
- Common name
- Slow Worm
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Anguidae
- Genus
- Anguis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyAnguidae
- subfamilyAnguinae
- genusAnguis
- speciesAnguis colchica (Nordmann, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anguis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Slow WormAnguis veronensis Pollini, 1818 | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slow WormAnguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Greek Slow WormAnguis graeca Bedriaga, 1881 | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peloponnese Slow WormAnguis cephallonica Werner, 1894 | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anguis incerta Krynicki, 1837 Krynicki, 1837 | synonym |
| Otophis eryx var. colchica Nordmann, 1840 Nordmann, 1840 | synonym |
| Anguis orientalis Anderson, 1872 Anderson, 1872 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Anguis&species=colchica Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5V2GS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.