Eastern glass lizard
| Ophisaurus ventralis | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Autarchoglossa |
| Family: | Anguidae |
| Genus: | Ophisaurus |
| Species: | O. ventralis |
| Binomial name | |
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Ophisaurus ventralis (Linnaeus, 1766) |
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| Synonyms | |
Ophisaurus ventralis, commonly known as the eastern glass lizard, is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to the Southeastern United States.
Adults of O. ventralis grow to 46–108 cm (18–43 in) in total length, although the head-body length is only 30.5 cm (12.0 in) 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, 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 species that may have a greenish appearance. Juveniles are khaki-colored and usually have two dark stripes that run down the back.
No subspecies are currently recognized.
O. ventralis is commonly found from North Carolina to south Florida and west to Louisiana. Isolated records exist of its occurrence in Oklahoma and Missouri.
O. ventralis eats a range of insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets and beetles, and will also consume spiders, small mice, snails, and the eggs of other reptiles and ground-nesting birds. Unlike snakes, 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.
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Wikipedia