Mimic glass lizard

Mimic glass lizard
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Anguidae
Genus: Ophisaurus
Species:
O. mimicus
Binomial name
Ophisaurus mimicus
Palmer, 1987

The mimic glass lizard (Ophisaurus mimicus) is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to the Southeastern United States. The mimic glass lizard is dark brown to black with a dark middorsal stripe down the body and on most of the tail. They have 3-4 dark stripes separated by pale stripes above the lateral grooves.[2] They have a very distinct anatomy of the axis specifically when it comes to their second vertebra which could be attributed to an ecological adaptation, feeding, and/or defensive behavior that requires high head and neck mobility.[3]

  1. ^ Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Ophisaurus mimicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T63720A12709987. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ Palmer, William M. Herpetologica, vol. 43, no. 4, Dec. 1987, pp. 415–423., https://doi.org/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3892144.
  3. ^ Čerňanský, Andrej, et al. “Vertebral Comparative Anatomy and Morphological Differences in Anguine Lizards with a Special Reference to Pseudopus Apodus.” The Anatomical Record, vol. 302, no. 2, 2018, pp. 232–257., https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.23944.