Eastern Glass Lizard
Ophisaurus ventralis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyAnguidae (Glass and Alligator Lizards)
- GenusOphisaurus (North American Glass Lizards)
- SpeciesOphisaurus ventralis (Eastern Glass Lizard)
The eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis) is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae and the longest and heaviest species of glass lizards in the genus Ophisaurus, 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 as well as a lateral groove that separates the different types of scales on the animal, while all three of these features are absent in snakes. Snakes also have flexible jaws while lizards do not. Ventralis comes from the Latin "venter" meaning belly; this is in reference to the snake-like movement. Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Eastern Glass Lizard sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve, based on 23 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Big Cypress National Preserve
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️🌙 When They're Spotted
Active throughout day and night · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Eastern Glass Lizard in Big Cypress National Preserve?
About 16% of wildlife watchers report a Eastern Glass Lizard sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve, based on 23 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Eastern Glass Lizard in Big Cypress National Preserve?
June has the highest sighting rate for Eastern Glass Lizard in Big Cypress National Preserve in our monthly data.