Eastern glass lizard

The eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis) is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae, endemic to the Southeastern United States. 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.

Eastern glass lizard
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Anguidae
Genus: Ophisaurus
Species:
O. ventralis
Binomial name
Ophisaurus ventralis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Anguis ventralis
    Linnaeus, 1766
  • Ophisaurus ventralis
    Daudin, 1803
  • Ophisaurus ventralis
    Cope, 1900
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