Reptiles · Squamata · Anguidae

European Glass Lizard

Pseudopus apodus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The European glass lizard, known in Spanish as lución europeo grande or escurridizo, is a legless lizard that can exceed a metre in length, its body covered in stiff scales and with a lateral groove that lets it expand as it breathes and eats. It is not a snake: it keeps movable eyelids, ear openings and vestiges of hind limbs.

Weight

200 g – 500 g

Size

80 cm – 1.4 m

Lifespan

30 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestMountainGrasslandCarnivore Diurnal Solitary Reptile Temperate forest Mountain Grassland

14countries 29parks1same family

Fun facts

It is not a snake although it looks like one: it has movable eyelids and can blink, it has external ear openings and it keeps tiny vestiges of hind legs beside the cloaca, three features no snake has.
Its body is covered in stiff osteoderms, and a flexible groove along each side lets it expand in order to breathe and to digest large prey, which its armour would otherwise not allow.
It eats snails, shell and all, crushing them with blunt teeth and powerful jaws, and it also preys on eggs and rodents.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Dry stony slopes, scrub and forest edges of south-eastern Europe and western Asia
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 42 days
Litter / clutch size: 8

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudopus_apodus