What is Anguis fragilis?
{{Italictitle}} {{Taxobox | name = ''Anguis fragilis'' | image = Anguidae.jpg | image_width = 250px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | subphylum = [[Vertebrata]] | classis = [[Reptilia]] | ordo = [[Squamata]] | familia = [[Anguidae]] | genus = ''[[Anguis]]'' | binomial = ''Anguis fragilis'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758}} [[Image:Anguis fragilis 20050721 002.jpg|thumb|225px|Closeup of the head of a slow-worm]] '''''Anguis fragilis''''' (the '''slow-worm''', or '''blindworm''') is a [[lizard]] which is limbless (meaning it has no legs or arms).<ref>{{Cite web| title = Slow worm videos, photos and facts - Anguis fragilis| work = ARKive| access-date = 2016-10-30| url = http://www.arkive.org/slow-worm/anguis-fragilis/| archive-date = 2016-11-09| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161109002432/http://www.arkive.org/slow-worm/anguis-fragilis/| url-status = dead}}</ref> It has a wide distribution in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], and is one of the few reptiles native to [[Britain]]. When a slow-worm is in [[wikt:danger|danger]] it can shed (break off) its [[tail]] and escape. It can then grow back a new, shorter tail, which it cannot shed. The female often has a stripe along the back and the male may have blue spots. Instead of laying eggs, the females give birth to live young ([[viviparous]] birth). In the days leading up to birth the female can often be seen basking in the sun on a warm road. Slow-worms are often called snakes, but they are not. Slow-worms can blink, but snakes cannot. They shed their skin in patches like other lizards, rather than the whole skin as most snakes do. Adult slow-worms grow to be about 50 [[centimetre]]s long. They are known for their very long life. One was said to have been fifty four years old. There are not as many slow-worms as there used to be. Many places where they used to live have been built on. In gardens they can be killed by [[cat]]s. ==References== {{reflist}} {{wikispecies|Anguis fragilis}} {{-}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Anguids]] [[