Eastern Glass Lizard
Ophisaurus ventralis • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Anguimorpha, Family: Anguidae, Subfamily: Anguinae, Genus: Ophisaurus, Species: Ophisaurus ventralis
Southeastern United States, ranging from southeastern Virginia south to Florida, and west to Louisiana.
Look up Eastern Glass Lizard in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Anguimorpha, Family: Anguidae, Subfamily: Anguinae, Genus: Ophisaurus, Species: Ophisaurus ventralis
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations face threats primarily from habitat loss due to agricultural and urban development, as well as mortality from domestic pets and vehicular traffic.
Physical Description
Elongated, legless lizard with a smooth, glossy scale appearance. It has a greenish-brown to yellowish upper body with dark speckling and sometimes a pale longitudinal stripe. Unlike snakes, it has visible ear openings and movable eyelids, though these are subtle from this top-down head angle.
Size & Dimensions
Specimen shown is roughly 30 cm long. Adults typically range from 45 to 108 cm in total length, with a large portion of that being the easily autotomized tail.
Habitat
Pine flatwoods, wet savannas, coastal dunes, grasslands, and agricultural fields. Prefers moist areas and sandy soils where it can burrow.
Diet & Feeding
Invertebrates including insects, spiders, snails, as well as small rodents, reptiles, and bird eggs. Uses an active foraging strategy.
Reproduction
Oviparous, females lay clutches averaging 8 to 20 eggs in underground burrows or beneath debris during the summer months, often guarding the nest.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations face threats primarily from habitat loss due to agricultural and urban development, as well as mortality from domestic pets and vehicular traffic.
Cultural Significance
Plays an important ecological role as both predator of pest insects and prey for larger mammals and birds. Often subject to folklore regarding the myth that their tails can break into separate pieces and rejoin.
Notable Features
Exhibits caudal autotomy (the ability to break off a portion of its tail to distract predators), which is the source of the 'glass' lizard moniker since the tail shatters or breaks easily like glass.