Kingdom : Animalia Class : Reptilia Family : Auguidae Scientific Name : Ophisaurus Size(L) : 60cm - 121cm (2ft - 4ft) Weight : 300g - 600g (11oz - 21oz) Top Speed : 9.7km/h (6mph) Life Span : 10 - 30 years Colour : Black, Brown, Tan, Yellow, Grey, Green Skin Type : Scales Distinctive Features : Forked tongue and detachable tail
- The Glass Lizard are a group of reptiles, resembling snakes, found all around the world.
- Though they resemble snakes, they are actually Lizards.
- They are also known as the glass snake or the jointed snake.
- They are distinguished from snakes through their movable eyelids and external ear-openings.
- Most of the glass lizards do not have legs and a few of them have very tiny stub-like legs.
- They may grow to be between 60cm and 120cm and around 2/3 of this length is their tail.
- They get their name from being easily breakable, their tail can be dropped off and can break into several pieces.
- Interestingly, the tail remains mobile and the lizard stays motionless to distract its predator.
- A lot of effort is required to replace the loss of body mass through the tail and usually, the new tail is shorter.
- They are nocturnal animals known to replenish their energy by laying in sunlight, and hunt actively at night.
- They are carnivores feeding on insects, small mammals, rodents, frogs, birds and eggs.
- Their natural predators include many mammals, snakes and birds of prey.
- They are known to breed in early summer and the female glass lizard leys her eggs in dense forest foliage or on a log.
- The female glass lizard also attends to her eggs till they hatch.