THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Anguidae  

Mimic Glass Lizard
Ophisaurus mimicus Palmer, 1987
oh-FEE-saur-us — MIM-ih-kus

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: Alabama Florida Georgia Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its close resemblance to other Ophisaurus species.
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.
mimicus — From Latin mimicus, meaning “imitative” or “mimicking,” referencing the species’ cryptic similarity in appearance to other species (especially Ophisaurus attenuatus), despite genetic distinction.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
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
1987 Palmer, William M. A New Species of Glass Lizard (Anguidae: Ophisaurus) from the Southeastern United State. Herpetologica 43(4):415-423
1991 Palmer, William M. Ophisaurus mimicus Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (543):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 16:54 CT