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).

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )

endemic to a single nation

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles)) The eastern segment of the range (subspecies longicaudus) encompasses the southeastern United States, from Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast and southern Florida, east of the Mississippi River; the western part of the range (subspecies attentuatus) extends from southeastern Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana south to the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, west of the Mississippi River in the south (Conant and Collins 1991).

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,

Length: 107 cm

• Terrestrial

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).

Comments: Habitats include open grassland, prairie, woodland edge, open woodland, oak savannas, longleaf pine flatwoods, scrubby areas, fallow fields, and areas near streams and ponds, often in habitats with sandy soil. This species often appears on roads in spring. During inactivity, it occurs in underground burrows. In Kansas, slender glass lizards were scarce in heavily grazed pastures, increased as grass increased with removal of grazing, and declined as brush and trees replaced grass (Fitch 1989).

Eggs are laid underground, under cover, or under grass clumps (Ashton and Ashton 1985); in cavities beneath flat rocks or in abandoned tunnels of small mammals (Scalopus, Microtus) (Fitch 1989).

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

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.

Comments: Eats insects, spiders, snails, reptile and bird eggs, and occasionally mice and possibly other small vertebrates. Forages on ground and underground (Vogt 1981). In Kansas, finds prey partly by olfaction; diet is mainly grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, beetles, and spiders (Fitch 1989).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

Comments: Many occurences.

10,000 - 1,000,000 individuals

Kansas: tends to stay in familiar area, but home range is not well defined; adult males range more widely than do females and immatures; average home range is about 0.44 ha in adult males, 0.14 ha in juveniles; peak density is about 100 per ha; important predators include carnivores, hawks, and snakes; annual mortality is about 40% in adults and adolescents (Fitch 1989).

Comments: Active from May to late September in the north (Vogt 1981), longer in the south. Fall activity primarily is by hatchlings (Vogt 1981). In Arkansas, peak in activity occurs from April to early June (Trauth 1984). Mostly diurnal, but occasionally crepuscular or nocturnal; in Kansas, surface activity is elicited by warm summer rains (Fitch 1989).

Mating occurs throughout May with the female laying her clutch in June or early in July (Harding, 1997). The female then exhibits brooding in which the body temperature will rise 0.3-0.4 degrees Celsius and she will incubate the eggs (Glass Lizard, 1999). The young will hatch out after 50-60 days and grow quickly to maturity (Harding, 1997).

In Kansas, mating occurs in May. Lays clutch of 3-17 (average 12 in Arkansas, 10 in Kansas) eggs in June or July (usually first week of July in Kansas). Female stays with eggs until hatching in late summer, after 7-8 weeks in Kansas. Sexually mature in 2 years (Arkansas, Trauth 1984) or 3-4 years (Fitch 1970, Fitch 1989). In Kansas, individual females do not breed every year (Fitch 1989).

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

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: Globally secure, largely on the basis of the extensive range.

Intrinsic Vulnerability: Moderately vulnerable

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable (=10% change)

Global Long Term Trend: Increase of 10-25% to decline of 50%

Comments: Historically, regional declines occurred as a result of agricultural development, but currently the overall extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, and abundance are probably relatively stable.

Comments: Conversion of habitat to human uses, especially intensive agriculture, is probably the major threat.

Management Requirements: Burning, cutting, and thinning are management practices that may be appropriate for maintaining open habitat.

Global Protection: Very many (>40) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

Comments: This species occurs in many protected areas.

Comments: Prior to 1954 (McConkey 1954), all glass lizards (including species now known as Ophisaurus attentuatus, O. compressus, and O. mimicus) were referred to as Ophisaurus ventralis. Palmer (1987) described O. mimicus as a distinct species. Subspecies longicaudus was proposed as a distinct species by Collins (1991), who expressed the opinion that any allopatric subspecies that is in some way morphologically distinct should be treated as a distinct species, but most authors maintain longicaudus as a subspecies of O. attenuatus.

Molecular data support recognition of the family Anniellidae and anguid subfamilies Gerrhonotinae and Anguinae as monophyletic groups (Macey et al. 1999). Within the Anguinae, Ophisaurus apparently is not monophyletic; among various taxonomic alternatives available to remedy the situation, Macey et al. (1999) favored placing all members of the subfamily in a single genus (Anguis).