The Slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus) is a legless lizard found only in the United States. Their name comes from their easily broken tail which they can break off themselves without ever being touched and it is difficult to find a specimen with an undamaged tail.
Slender glass lizards have yellow to brown bodies with six stripes and they have a middorsal stripe. White specks in the middle of the lizard's scales may sometimes form light stripes. Their markings may fade as an individual ages. The tail of these lizards comprises two-thirds of their body length. The scales are supported by an osteoderm which makes the body hard and stiff. These lizards have a pointed snout and a non-distinct head. Males and females are of similar size. Unlike snakes, Slender glass lizards have eyelids and ears. They have some difficulty moving across smooth surfaces because they do not have the large belly plates and related muscles of snakes. The body of a snake is more flexible than that of this species and has differently shaped scales.
Slender glass lizards are found in the midwestern and southeast United States. There they inhabit prairies, grasslands, savannas, old fields, or open woodlands, often near water. They can also sometimes occur in longleaf pine forests and human-made debris.
Slender glass lizards are usually solitary and primarily diurnal creatures. They are active during the day when the weather is cool but are only active during dawn and dusk when the temperature is hot. Slender glass lizards sleep in burrows borrowed from other animals and they will use those burrows to hibernate. They may also make their own burrows in sandy soil. They hibernate from October until April or May. Slender glass lizards forage underground in burrows. A fold of their skin is able to expand their body when they are breathing, eating a large meal, or when they are carrying eggs. Slender glass lizards can move fast and if captured, an individual may thrash vigorously, causing part of the tail to fall off in one or more pieces. While a potential predator is distracted by the wiggling tail, the lizard quickly escapes. Slender glass lizards can snap off their tail without them being touched; the partial tail that regenerates is tan, but it does not have the pattern of the original tail. The pieces of the tail will continue to move once broken off. Slender glass lizards seldom bite when they are threatened. When they are approached, the lizard will sometimes stay still and try to blend in with the vegetation. Slender glass lizards can jump to escape predators and observations have reported that the Western slender glass lizard subspecies can swim considerable distances when avoiding predation.
Slender glass lizards are carnivores mainly insectivores. They eat a wide range of insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles, and will also consume spiders, small rodents, and snails. They have also been known to eat small lizards and small snakes.
Slender glass lizards are polygynous meaning that males mate with multiple females during the breeding season. They usually mate in May and females lay 5 to 15 oval eggs in late June or July. Eggs hatch 50-60 days after being laid and the female then stays beside them throughout the incubation period. The eggs are laid under objects that can cover them including a log or a board. Hatchlings are 10-13 cm (3.9-5.1 in) long and are difficult to spot. They are independent from the moment they hatch and become reproductively mature at 3 or 4 years of age.
The main threats to this species include the loss of habitat, and the fragmentation of what remains, by human development. Insecticides are harmful to these lizards because they can kill the insects that they consume and those insects can be ingested by the lizards.
According to IUCN Red List, the Slender glass lizard is locally common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
