Leptotyphlopidae

The Leptotyphlopidae (commonly called slender blind snakes or thread snakes) are a family of small snakes found in North America, South America, Africa and Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites. Two subfamilies are recognized.

==Description== thumb|left|upright=0.9|Texas blind snake (Rena dulcis) on a hand Relatively small snakes, leptotyphlopids rarely exceed in length; only Trilepida macrolepis and Leptotyphlops occidentalis grow larger. The cranium and upper jaws are immobile and no teeth are in the upper jaw. The lower jaw consists of a much elongated quadrate bone, a tiny compound bone, and a relatively larger dentary bone. The body is cylindrical with a blunt head and a short tail. The scales are highly polished. The pheromones they produce protect them from attack by termites. Among these snakes is what is believed to be the world's smallest: L. carlae (Hedges, 2008).