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The Anguis fragilis, or slow worm, is a limbless lizard native to Eurasia. It is sometimes called a blindworm. Its German name, "Blindschleiche," is derived from the Old High German plintslîcho meaning "blinding creeper", perhaps because of its lustrous scales.
Slow worms are semifossorial (burrowing) lizards, spending much of the time hiding underneath objects. The skin of slow worms is smooth with scales that do not overlap one another. Like many other lizards, slow worms autotomize, meaning that they have the ability to shed their tails to escape predators. While the tail regrows, it does not...