The Slow Worm. The slow worm is neither a worm nor a snake but is in fact a legless lizard - its identity is given away by its abilities to shed its tail and blink with its eyelids. The only other member of the family the Peloponnese slow worm Anguis cephalonnica is endemic to parts of Greece.
If you try to hold them by the tail it will break off and the slow-worm will wriggle off to freedom. Unlike snakes lizards such as the slow-worm have eyelids and can detach their tails as a defence mechanism and regrow another although never to the same length. The slow worm is just that slow.
The slow-worm which is in fact a legless lizard is a member of the large and diverse Anguidae family thats native to the Northern hemisphere.
Its often claimed that the slow worm is possibly the longest-lived lizard or one of the longest-lived lizards in the world. The only other member of the family the Peloponnese slow worm Anguis cephalonnica is endemic to parts of Greece. The slow worm is quite common across Scotland and it is the only reptile known to occur in the Outer Hebrides. This is one of a series of short video clips showing the wonders of the natural world in the New Forest National ParkFor more on this and other species visi.