Kornilios et al. (2020) examined mitochondrial and nuclear diversity within what they termed the "Xerotyphlops vermicularis complex" and identified Levantine subpopulations as a distinct species for which they resurrected the name X. syriacus. They noted that the high levels of genetic diversity within these species may indicate that either or both contain cryptic species.

X. syriacus has not yet been assessed at the global scale for the IUCN Red List, hence this European regional assessment is published under the current concept of the species, although it is accepted that Levantine subpopulations refer to X. syriacus.

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

The species is assessed as Least Concern for Europe and for the EU27 Member States in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining.

In Europe, this species is widespread in the southern Balkans, with records from southeastern Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, southern Bulgaria, Greece and Turkish Thrace (Speybroeck et al. 2016). The northernmost confirmed locality is Elenite village on the Black Sea coast of central Bulgaria (Koynova et al. 2021). It is found on a number of Ionian and Aegean islands (Euboea, Thasos, Nydri, Symi, Rhodes, Corfu, Salamis, Naxos, Lesvos, Lefkada, Patmos, Samos, Evia, Dilos, Rineia, Andros, Kos, Kythera, Kastelorizo, and maybe Skyros; Speybroeck et al. 2016) and Cyprus. There is a single record from Dugi Otok island (Croatia) where its presence is doubtful (Jelič 2014), and it may range into Bosnia and Herzegovina. It occurs up to 1,200 m asl in the European region (Speybroeck et al. 2016).

Globally, this species ranges eastward through most of Türkiye (though absent from most of the north), western Syria, into Iran and Iraq, and northwards into the Caucasus region of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and southern Russia. It is also present in Central Asia occurring in southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan. As presently understood, records from southern Syria and western Jordan represent Xerotyphlops syriacus, and this is also likely to be the lineage reported from Israel, Lebanon and Egypt (Kornilios et al. 2020). This species ranges from sea level up to about 1,700 m asl.

It is generally a common species. It appears to be "very common" in Cyprus (Baier et al. 2013). In some areas it can be found beneath almost every suitable rock in spring (Speybroeck et al. 2016). It can be hard or impossible to find during the rest of the year as it lives fully underground (Speybroeck et al. 2016). In North Macedonia the species has a very patchy distribution. It is considered rare in Montenegro (Crnobrnja-Isailović and Džukić 1995) and Bulgaria, and most records reported by Pulev et al. (2018) were of single individuals. The largest number they recorded from a single site in nine years of surveys (in 2003, and between 2010 and 2017) was nine. In contrast, Kolnyova et al. (2021) found 10 specimens in a single day near Elemite village.

This largely subterranean species is associated with "fairly dry" open areas, usually sparsely vegetated and without tall vegetation (Speybroeck et al. 2016). It is often found in grassy fields and slopes, and can be found in mostly unvegetated "beach-like" sandy areas with scattered stones (Speybroeck et al. 2016). It spends most of the year deep underground, and animals are generally only found during the springtime when they are close to the surface (Speybroeck et al. 2016). The species is rarely surface-active, and typically only after heavy rains or at twilight (Speybroeck et al. 2016). The females lay between four and eight eggs in a clutch. It is found in traditional agricultural areas, among ruins and even in urban areas, the latter including building sites (Speybroeck et al. 2016, Baier et al. 2013). These latter authors report having found numerous snakes in a single compost heap of sheep and goat dung (Speybroeck et al. 2016). Pairing occurs from the spring to the beginning of summer. The female lays four to eight eggs (Baier et al. 2013, Speybroeck et al. 2016) in underground passages in the second part of summer.

There are no major threats to this species over most of the Mediterranean region.

There is no known or likely use of or trade in this species.

This species is listed on Annex III of the Bern Convention. It is found in a number of protected areas. Further taxonomic research may be warranted to clarify whether possible cryptic lineages warrant recognition as distinct species (Kornilios et al. 2020).