Kansas biologists were searching for a rare, tiny snake called the New Mexico threadsnake or “blind snake” when they found one in a surprising place—a toad’s mouth. What are the chances? The find was great luck for the biologists and bad luck for the toad, which was mid-snack.
“Check out this super rare find [. . .] A New Mexico Threadsnake . . . in the mouth of a Woodhouse’s Toad! That’s right – that’s a snake, not a worm!” writes the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) in a Facebook post.
New Mexico threadsnakes are on the list of threatened species in the state of Kansas. KDWP says these tiny snakes are typically just 5-8 inches long. They live mostly along the Kansas/Oklahoma border.
“These snakes are nocturnal and easy to miss with their worm-like appearance, so imagine the surprise when our survey crew captured a Woodhouse’s Toad trying to snack on the very species our crew was searching for,” the caption says.
KDWP doesn’t specify how the researchers knew that the toad had found what they were looking for or exactly how they retrieved the snake. Judging by the photo, the snake still looks intact, so it’s possible the toad had just barely caught it.
Have you heard of a New Mexico threadsnake?