Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus
Western Slender Glass Lizard

Iroquois Co., Illinois
July 23, 1996

Disturbed while sunning in a grassy field alongside an abandoned farmhouse, my first Glass Lizard eluded capture, out-foxing two grown men.  Unlike snakes, these lizards can reverse direction on a dime, and they are fast!  The following year, one crossed a sand road in front of our vehicle, and I was able to jump out and slap hands over it - it appears they cannot move very fast on open sand, as they can in the grass!