GLASS SNAKE

also called Glass Lizard, any lizard of the genus Ophisaurus in the family Anguidae, so named because the tail is easily broken off. The Eastern glass lizard, Ophisaurus ventralis, occurs in southeastern North America and grows to about 105 cm (41 inches). It has no legs but is easily distinguished from a snake by its ears, movable eyelids, nonexpandable jaws, and the fact that the scales on the lower and upper sides of the body are of equal size. It closely resembles the slender glass lizard, O. attenuatus, which has a broader distribution in southeastern North America northwestward into the upper Mississippi River valley. Unlike O. ventralis, which has a broad band along each lower side, O. attenuatus has narrow dark lines. Both species live in loose soil, among leaves and grass, or under roots or stones. O. apodus, found over much of southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, grows to about 120 cm long.