---
title: "Hazelworm"
description: "Anguis fragilis — Reptielen. The common slow worm (Anguis fragilis) is a non-venomous species of legless lizard native to Europe."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/common-slowworm
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Hazelworm

> Anguis fragilis — Reptielen. The common slow worm (Anguis fragilis) is a non-venomous species of legless lizard native to Europe.

- Scientific name: *Anguis fragilis*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptielen)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos), `urban` (Steden en tuinen)
- iNaturalist observations: 48396
- Wikidata: [Q183660](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183660)
- iNaturalist taxon: [343021](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/343021)

## Names

- en: Common Slowworm
- de: Westliche Blindschleiche
- es: Lución europeo
- fr: Orvet fragile
- nl: Hazelworm
- pt: Licranço
- pl: Padalec zwyczajny

## Countries with the most observations

DE (10107), GB (7226), AT (5170), FR (4935), CZ (4034), ES (2579), DK (2368), PL (1657), SE (1579), CH (1109), LU (911), PT (838)

## Summary

The common slow worm (Anguis fragilis) is a non-venomous species of legless lizard native to Europe. It is also called a deaf adder, blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple, steelworm, and hazelworm.
Despite its name, the common slow worm is neither a worm nor a snake.
Common slow worms are semifossorial (burrowing) lizards that spend much of their time hiding underneath objects. The skin of slow worms is smooth, with scales that do not overlap.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_slow_worm

## Photo

![Hazelworm](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-slowworm/medium.jpg)

Photo: ivan_humljani · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/89906354

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-slowworm?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).