Leptotyphlopidae

Leptotyphlopidae is a family of small, burrowing snakes found in North America, South America, Africa and Asia, commonly called slender blind snakes or thread snakes, and divided into the subfamilies Leptotyphlopinae and Epictinae across genera including Leptotyphlops, Epictia, Rena and Trilepida. They have an immobile skull, no teeth in the upper jaw, a cylindrical body with a blunt head, a short tail and highly polished scales, and they produce pheromones that protect them from termite attack. Most are under 30 centimeters long; Leptotyphlops carlae is thought to be the smallest snake species known. They lay eggs and feed mainly on termite and ant larvae, pupae and adults, living in habitats from arid land to rainforest near ant and termite nests.