CreatureData

Common slow worm

Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758

LCLeast Concernlizards

The common slow worm (Anguis fragilis) is a lizard in the family Anguidae, subfamily Anguinae, within the reptile order Squamata. It is a small reptile, with an adult body mass of 10.48 g (from 9.31 to 11.65 g) and a body length of 17.96 cm.

Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common slow worm

Its main foods are gastropoda, larva and worm. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and has a lifespan of 54 years.

Weight
9.31 g – 11.7 gsrc for Weight
Length
18 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
54 yearssrc for Lifespan
Main food
gastropoda, larva, wormsrc for Main food
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
9src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3 years – 4.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
0.7src for Litters or clutches a year
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the common slow worm?

COMMON SLOW WORM · LENGTH 18 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 18 cm, the recorded maximum length of the common slow worm is about 11% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the common slow worm

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Fabian Gebert Fotos · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Julia Wittmann · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Jonas Bergsten · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Kieran Roy Powell · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Laurent Lebois · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Zerocool.marko · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)
Zerocool.marko · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.

Where does the common slow worm live?

Not recorded

What is the common slow worm?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Common slow worm” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_slow_worm&oldid=1384681775), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the common slow worm sound like?

Thorsten Hartmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the common slow worm endangered?

The common slow worm is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the common slow worm classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyAnguidae
  6. genusAnguis
  7. SpeciesAnguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Anguis eryx, Anguis fragilis fragilis, Anguis gamma, Anguis orvet, Anguis vittatus, Dorfia punctata

Other names and names in other languages (89)
  • Common SlowwormEnglish
  • Slow wormEnglish
  • Slow wormEnglish
  • Slow wormEnglish
  • Slow-wormEnglish
  • دودة بطيئةArabic
  • Cullebra de cristalAragonese
  • ScolibiertuAsturian
  • EscalagüertuAsturian
  • esculibiertuAsturian
  • Chalyz KoramaAzerbaijani
  • Cılız koramalAzerbaijani
  • Blindschleich(en)Bavarian
  • Вераценніца ломкаяBelarusian
  • СлепокBulgarian
  • Anuz-dallBreton
  • ninaCatalan
  • serp de vidreCatalan
  • VidriolCatalan
  • slepýš křehkýCzech
  • SlëmiéńKashubian
  • Neidr DdefaidWelsh
  • Nadroedd DefaidWelsh
  • StålormDanish
  • HartwurmGerman
  • BlindschleicheGerman
  • BruchscheicheGerman
  • HaselwurmGerman
  • Westliche BlindschleicheGerman
  • ΚονάκιGreek
  • LuciónSpanish
  • Lución europeoSpanish
  • vaskussEstonian
  • ZiraunBasque
  • ZiraunaBasque
  • vaskitsaFinnish
  • OrvetFrench
  • Orvet communFrench
  • Orvet fragileFrench
  • Orvet fragile (L')French
  • Earcán caochIrish
  • dall-chnuimhScottish Gaelic
  • dall-chnuimheanScottish Gaelic
  • nathair-challtainnScottish Gaelic
  • nathraichean-calltainnScottish Gaelic
  • EscáncerGalician
  • LiscanzoGalician
  • קמטן שבירHebrew
  • sljepićCroatian
  • Lábatlan gyíkHungarian
  • közönséges lábatlangyíkHungarian
  • ԻլիկաօձArmenian
  • StálormurIcelandic
  • OrbettinoItalian
  • Orbettino europeoItalian
  • ヒメアシナシトカゲJapanese
  • ბოხმეჭაGeorgian
  • BokhmechaGeorgian
  • KurmarmarokKurdish
  • BlannschlécherLuxembourgish
  • AngwisíLingala
  • Anguis fragilisLombard
  • Trapusis gluodenasLithuanian
  • Trauslā glodeneLatvian
  • СлепчеMacedonian
  • ဆလိုးဝမ်းကောင်Burmese
  • hazelwormDutch
  • NaduèlhOccitan
  • padalec zwyczajnyPolish
  • LicrançoPortuguese
  • Cobra-de-vidroPortuguese
  • МедяницаRussian
  • Ломкая веретеницаRussian
  • MedyanitzaRussian
  • Veretenitza LomkayaRussian
  • Slepúch lámavýSlovak
  • Navadni slepecSlovenian
  • СлепићSerbian
  • SlepićSerbian
  • ormslåSwedish
  • kopparödlaSwedish
  • kopparormSwedish
  • Yılan KertenkeleTurkish
  • Веретінниця ламкаUkrainian
  • Веретільниця ламкаUkrainian
  • OrbesinVenetian
  • HoazelwormeWest Flemish
  • DiziWalloon
  • 普通蛇蜥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common slow worm

Other species in the same genus Anguis.

Slow worm

Anguis colchica

AnguidaeNo free photo yet

CompareCommon slow worm vs Peloponnese slow wormCommon slow worm vs Slow wormCommon slow worm vs Italian slow wormCommon slow worm vs Greek slow worm

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the common slow worm?

The common slow worm is a lizard, a reptile in the family Anguidae and the order Squamata.

How big is the common slow worm?

It has a body length of 17.96 cm and an adult body mass of 10.48 g, with reported values from 9.31 to 11.65 g. It is classed as small.

What does the common slow worm eat?

Its main foods are gastropoda, larva and worm.

Is the common slow worm endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

How long does the common slow worm live?

Its lifespan is given as 54 years.

How many young does the common slow worm have?

It has 9 young or eggs per litter or clutch, with 0.7 litters or clutches per year.

When does the common slow worm reach sexual maturity?

It reaches sexual maturity at 3.8 years, with reported values from 3.0 to 4.5 years.

Who named Anguis fragilis?

Anguis fragilis was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-slow-worm

MLA

“Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-slow-worm.

BibTeX
@misc{common_slow_worm_2026,
  title = {Common slow worm (Anguis fragilis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-slow-worm},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}