Found in prairie and open woodlands, frequently near water
Active in day when cool, dawn and dusk when hot
Feed on arthropods, snails, frogs, and small snakes
Have no legs, but are not snakes!
Some of the characteristics that make these lizards are:
A long tail - snakes of the same size as these lizards would have a tail only an inch or so long
External ear openings - which lizards have, but not snakes
Eyelids - which lizards have, but not snakes
Behavior - many of the glass lizards' behaviors are more lizard-like
Genes - glass lizards are more closely related to collared lizards than to snakes
Interesting fact:
Glass lizards only lose short lengths of their tails when attacked by predators and they never grow back the entire length. So, the more often they are attacked, the shorter they become.
Range map in Kansas:
More images:
The image below shows two glass lizards, both with the same body length (indicated by the yellow lines). The top lizard has an intact tail that comprises 2/3 of it's total length. The lower lizard has lost most of it's tail and will grow back no more than you see here (the last solid brown, inch or so).
