The eastern glass lizard (''Ophisaurus ventralis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of legless

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Anguidae Anguidae refers to a large and diverse family of lizards native to the Northern Hemisphere. Common characteristics of this group include a reduced supratemporal arch, striations on the medial faces of tooth crowns, osteoderms, and a lateral fold ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. The streamlined, legless species is often confused with snakes. Glass Lizards differ from snakes as they possess a moveable eyelid and an external ear opening, both of which are absent in snakes. ''Ventralis'' comes from the Latin "venter" meaning belly; this is in reference to the snake-like movement.

Description

Adults of ''O. ventralis'' grow to in total length, although the head-body length is only at most. There are 99 or more scales along the lateral groove. In this species, no dark longitudinal stripes are present below the lateral groove or under the tail, and there is no distinct mid-dorsal stripe. The neck is marked with a series of mostly vertical, or highly irregular, white marks, with white markings on posterior corners of scales.

Dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

, older specimens have a pattern consisting of numerous longitudinal dark lines or dashes. Occasionally, similar parallel lines cover the entire mid-dorsal area. Older adults may be greenish above and yellow below; this is the only ''

Ophisaurus ''Ophisaurus'' (from the Greek 'snake-lizard') is a genus of superficially snake-like lizards in the family Anguidae. Known as joint snakes, glass snakes, or glass lizards, they are so-named because their tails are easily broken; like many liz ...

'' species that may have a greenish appearance. Juveniles are khaki-colored and usually have two dark stripes that run down the back. Conant R (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. (First published in 1958). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. xviii + 429 pp. + 48 plates. (hardcover), (paperback). (''Ophisaurus ventralis'', pp. 132-133, Figure 30 + Plate 13 + Map 95). ''O. ventralis'' are commonly mistaken as a species of snake because they lack limbs. Unlike snakes, they have moveable eyelids, external ear openings located behind their eyes, and inflexible jaws. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Habitat

Eastern glass lizards are a common species near wetlands and moist soils. ''O. ventralis'' habitat consists of flatwoods adjacent to wetlands with sandy soils. They heavily rely on prescribed fire to maintain their habitat. They have also been found in tidal areas such as coastal dunes because they are resistant to salty conditions. A study in 2020 found ''O. ventralis'' using a crayfish burrow as habitat. Various invertebrates and vertebrates are known to use these burrows but this is the first time a lizard species has been documented using a crayfish burrow. Limited research has been done but could be more widespread behavior.

Distribution

''O. ventralis'' is commonly found from extreme southeastern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to south

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and west to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Isolated records exist of its occurrence in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Diet

''O. ventralis'' eats a range of insects, such as

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

s and

beetles Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, and will also consume

spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

, small

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

snails A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

, and the eggs of other reptiles and ground-nesting birds. Unlike

snakes Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joi ...

, glass lizards do not have flexible jaws, and this limits the size of prey items they can consume. They forage both above ground and underground in burrows.

Reproduction

''O. ventralis'' is oviparous and lays around 5-15 eggs in June and July. Eggs are usually laid under cover or in depressions and sandy or loamy soil. Females will encircle their clutch but may retreat when approached and generally do not defend their eggs.

Gallery

File:925-2283.jpg, Male in South Carolina File:Female Ophisaurus ventralis with eggs, Dec 2008.jpg, Female with eggs File:Ophisaurus ventralis hatching.jpg, Hatchlings File:Ophisaurus ventralis flirting.jpg, In Florida File:Eastern Glass Lizard (2).jpg, With tail broken off File:Eastern Glass Lizard - 09-18-2022.jpg, Eastern Glass LIzard - Valdosta GA, USA

References

External links

Eastern Glass Lizard (''Ophisaurus ventralis'')
a
SREL Herpetology
Accessed 30 June 2008.
Eastern Glass Lizard (''Ophisaurus ventralis'')
a
Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries
Accessed 30 June 2008. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3015380 Ophisaurus Reptiles described in 1766 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Reptiles of the United States Endemic fauna of the United States