THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Anguidae  

Island Glass Lizard
Ophisaurus compressus Cope, 1900
oh-FEE-saur-us — kom-PRESS-us

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.10.07.49.07)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.17 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Florida Georgia South Carolina

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its flattened body shape.
Ophisaurus — From Greek ophis (ὄφις), meaning “snake,” and sauros (σαῦρος), meaning “lizard,” literally “snake-lizard,” referring to its serpentine, legless appearance despite being a lizard.
compressus — From Latin compressus, meaning “compressed” or “flattened,” referring to the dorsoventrally flattened body, especially near the tail.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Coastal Glass Snake (Ophisaurus compressus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1900 Cope, Edward D. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Pages 153-1270 in Report of the U. S. National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1898 , Washington, D. C. pp.
1951 McConkey, Edwin H. A systematic study of the North American lizards of the genus Ophisaurus. Thesis. University of Florida, Gainesville. 107pp.
1954 McConkey, Edwin H. A systematic study of the North American lizards of the genus Ophisaurus. American Midland Naturalist 51(1):133-171
1971 Holman, J. Alan. Ophisaurus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (110):1-3
1971 Holman, J. Alan. Ophisaurus compressus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (113):1-2
2016 Lavin, Brian R. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence dating in the Glass Lizards (Anguinae). Thesis. Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California. 70pp.
2019 Lavin, Brian R. and Derek J. Girman. Phylogenetic relationships and divergence dating in the Glass Lizards (Anguinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 133:128-140

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 17:00 CT