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Legless Lizard

© Rina Abdul Jamal

A legend often tags along unusual animals. As in the glass lizard, it was believed that this animal would be broken into pieces, just like glass, when shaken. How the legend came about, and why it was created, is not known. However some legends somehow hold some truth.

It is no surprise that a lizard could be "broken" into pieces. Most lizards are known to have the ability to detach their tails almost at will. This also happens in the glass lizard's life. When the lizard is handled, its tail, which is two times or more of its body length will, almost like glass, break and wriggle off.

When broken apart, the body will look about the same size as the wriggling tail. Naturally, any potential hunters will pay more attention to the animatedly "escaping" prey leaving the important part of the lizard, the body that is, to make an easy, quiet escape. The tail will grow back but the regenerated portion will be shorter and of different colour than the original.

What is unusual about this lizard is, it has no legs. This lizard, reaching about four feet long in some species, minus the feet, bears an uncanny snakelike appearance. This is why it is sometimes called the glass snake. However, it still retains remnants of a hipbone and tiny tips of hind legs. It is rather puzzling why these lizards "discarded" their legs when having legs would seem to enable them to run faster than without. Having said that, they however are known to move very fast as legless as they are.

Generally, lizards are reptiles with four feet, movable eyelids, and a long detachable tail. The glass lizard possesses all of those characteristics except for having four feet. Other traits differing the glass lizards from snakes are, the external ear openings and the inseparable jaw when swallowing large food item. The glass lizards are also stiff when handled and when examined closely, the head is shaped more like a lizard than a snake.

The glass lizards make up the order Squamata, genus Ophisaurus of the family Anguidae. They can be found across the Eurasia and the Americas. Their colours vary among different species. Some are black in colour with green spots and some are tan or brown with longitudinal stripes on each side of the body. The typical diet of a glass lizard consists of insects, snails, small lizards, bird eggs and small mammals.