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Western Slender Glass Lizard

Ophisaurus attenuatus

Description:

This was my first glass lizard. It was found like this on a gravel road at night. This one had dropped its tail at some time in its life (recently) and it was starting to grow back when we found it.

Habitat:

Found on a gravel road out in the country during the night.

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1 Comment

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 8 years ago

Congratulations Jack! Your spotting has been chosen for Project Noah Fact of the Day: " Many lizards are able to drop their tail when they are threatened by a predator; this defense mechanism is known as “caudal autotomy”. The detached tail can wriggle and move on the ground, distracting the predator's attention from the fleeing lizard. Depending on the species, lizards that can drop their tail can do so either between vertebrae, or in the middle of each vertebra. The lizards can partially regenerate their tail, with the new tail section containing cartilage rather than bone, and with skin of a different color and texture compared to the original tail.

Western Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuates) with regenerating tail, spotted in Oklahoma, USA by Project Noah user Jack Settle".
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...

Jack Settle
Spotted by
Jack Settle

Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA

Spotted on May 11, 2014
Submitted on Jun 2, 2014

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