Ophisaurus attenuatus
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus) is a legless lizard in the glass lizard subfamily (Anguinae). The species is endemic to the United States. Two subspecies are recognized. The lizard was originally believed to be a subspecies of the eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis). Their name comes from their easily broken tail which they can break off themselves without ever being touched. It is difficult to find a specimen with an undamaged tail. The lizard eats a variety of insects and small animals, including smaller lizards. Snakes and other animals are known to prey on the species. Humans have a part in destroying their environment and killing their food supply with insecticides. The lizard is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though it is vulnerable in Iowa and endangered in Wisconsin. The streamlined, legless species is often confused with snakes. Glass Lizards, however, differ from snakes as they possess a moveable eyelid, which is absent in snakes. Another way to distinguish glass lizards from snakes is the presence of an external ear opening, which are absent in snakes. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Padre Island National Seashore, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Slender Glass Lizard sighting in Padre Island National Seashore on a given day, based on 210 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 15 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and September
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Slender Glass Lizard in Padre Island National Seashore on a given day, against under 5% in January and February, the lowest months. Those are among Padre Island National Seashore's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in February.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Slender Glass Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Padre Island National Seashore, in our data
Padre Island National Seashore is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Slender Glass Lizard sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Slender Glass Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Padre Island National Seashore (210 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.
