NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Slow Worm
Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common slow worm (Anguis fragilis) is a non-venomous species of legless lizard native to Europe. It is also called a deaf adder, blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple, steelworm, and hazelworm.
Despite its name, the common slow worm is neither a worm nor a snake.
Common slow worms are semifossorial (burrowing) lizards that spend much of their time hiding underneath objects. The skin of slow worms is smooth, with scales that do not overlap.
Wikipedia contributors, Common slow worm; 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 fragilis Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- 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 fragilis Linnaeus, 1758
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 |
| Greek Slow WormAnguis graeca Bedriaga, 1881 | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slow WormAnguis colchica (Nordmann, 1840) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Dorfia punctata Gray, 1839 Gray, 1839 | synonym |
| Anguis gamma Roubieu, 1825 Roubieu, 1825 | synonym |
| Anguis orvet Lacépède, 1789 ex Mertens & Wermuth, 1960 Lacépède, 1789 ex Mertens & Wermuth, 1960 | 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=fragilis 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:672H4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.