# Worm snake (*Indotyphlops braminus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/worm-snake  
Data as of: 2026-11-13

The worm snake (Indotyphlops braminus) is a species in the family Typhlopidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 5 g.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 5 g |
| Length | up to 23 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 39 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 – 8 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At dawn and dusk (crepuscular) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 45 countries, and flagged as invasive in 4 of them. Introduced: Anguilla, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Caribbean Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Comoros, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Martin, Tanzania, Turks & Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vanuatu. Invasive: Central African Republic, Curaçao, Fiji, Mexico. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Typhlopidae
- genus: Indotyphlops
- species: *Indotyphlops braminus* (Daudin, 1803)

Synonyms: *Argyrophis braminus*, *Argyrophis truncatus*, *Eryx braminus*, *Glauconia braueri*, *Onychocephalus capensis*, *Ophthalmidium tenue*, *Ramphotyphlops braminus*, *Ramphotyphlops braminus*, *Rhamphotyphlops braminus*, *Tortrix braminus*, *Tortrix russelii*, *Typhlina braminus*, *Typhlops accedens*, *Typhlops avoterminatus*, *Typhlops braminus*, *Typhlops braminus*, *Typhlops braminus arenicola*, *Typhlops braminus pallidus*, *Typhlops braminus var. arenicola*, *Typhlops braminus var. pallidus*, *Typhlops euproctus*, *Typhlops inconspicuus*, *Typhlops khoratensis*, *Typhlops limbrickii*, *Typhlops pseudosaurus*, *Typhlops russeli*, *Typhlops russeli*, *Virgotyphlops braminus*

## Common questions

### How big is the worm snake?

An adult worm snake weighs 5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Is the worm snake an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the worm snake as invasive in 4 countries: Central African Republic, Curaçao, Fiji and Mexico. It lists it as introduced in 45 in all.

### What kind of animal is the worm snake?

The worm snake (Indotyphlops braminus) belongs to the family Typhlopidae in the order Squamata.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Worm snake (Indotyphlops braminus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/worm-snake