Ophisaurus attenuatus
glass lizard
(Also: slender glass lizard)

Ophisaurus attenuatus is found in the U.S., from central Illinois west into central Kansas

and south through eastern Texas, extending across the Mississippi into southern Florida

and up to east North Carolina and southeast Virginia. There are isolated occurences in

central Wisconsin. The two subspecies are separated by the

Mississippi, with O. a. attenuatus in the west and O. a. longicaudus in

the east (Conant and Collins, 1998).

Found in a variety of habitats within its range including dray grasslands, wooded areas, oak savannas, sand praries, old fields and pine barrens (Wisconsin, 1999).

Ophisourus attenuatus is approximately 22-42 inches long with an extremely long tail which can be up to two and a half times longer than that of head and body combined. This lizard has

large, plate-like scales that have bony plates called osteoderms under them, causing the lizard feel stiff when handled (Harding, 1997). There are lateral grooves, which appear as a small groove on either side of the lizard, approximately one-third up from the venter. Legs are completely absent and external ears are visible (University of Texas, 1999).

Upon first inspection, many people believe that O. attenuatus is a snake. But its pointed snout, stiff body scales and movable eyelids will distinguish this legless lizard from

all snakes.

Color varies from brown, tannish bronze to pale yellow with a dark middorsal stripe that is dark brown to black with two lateral stripes below the lateral groves. The side of the

head has scattered brown markings and the underside is white to a pale yellow (Wisconsin,1999).

The two subspecies can be distinguished by proportions and size. Ophisaurus a. attenuatus has a tail less than 2.4 times the length of the body while O. a.longicaudus has a tail more than 2.4 times the length of the rest of the body and is, on average,larger in overall length.

Sexes can be hard to distinguish with males having slightly wider heads and a longer average length. Juveniles can be distinguished by their more contrasting colors (Harding,

When caught, O. attenuates writhes and frantically twists to escape, often breaking off its long tail into several pieces. When it grows back, it will be shorter and darker than the original (Wisconsin, 1999).

It is active from May to September, though may stay hidden by burrowing in sandy soil or leaf litter; becoming very active with sunny weather (Wisconsin, 1999). O. attenuatus

uses its sides to push off of vegetation and other debris moving in a sideways motion(another difference between snakes!). This has led to problems as their habitat becomes fragmented by roads, they can get onto the pavement but become stranded when there is nothing more to push off of (Wisconsin, 1999).

This species is carnivorous, and will eat just about any small animal that it finds that will fit in its mouth. This includes beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, spiders and small vertebrates.

In Wisconsin, the Ophisaurus attenuatus has an endangered status, but for the rest of the U.S., there is no special status (Wisconsin, 1999).