Ophisaurus compressus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The island glass lizard (Ophisaurus compressus) is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States. O. compressus is found in Florida, southeastern Georgia, and southeastern South Carolina. Island glass lizards can be found in coastal sandy scrub areas, as well as adjacent pine flatwood habitats.
O. compressus can reach adult lengths of 15–24 inches. They can be distinguished from other Ophisaurus by a single dark stripe along both sides of the body, just above the lateral groove, and a single dark middorsal stripe which may sometimes appear more broken than solid. They also have many light vertical bars along the side of the neck that are more prominent and numerous than those on the Eastern Glass Lizard (O. ventralis).
O. compressus differs from other members of Ophisaurus in that they do not have fracture planes in the caudal vertebrae, which allow most Ophisaurus and many other lizards to easily shed their tails to evade predation. O. compressus is oviparous.
Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Everglades National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Island Glass Lizard sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 54 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–June and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Island Glass Lizard in Everglades National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July and September–March, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Island Glass Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Island Glass Lizard sightings, Everglades National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Island Glass Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Everglades National Park (59 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
