lizard

Glass Lizard

The glass lizard is a species of legless lizard that is often mistaken as a snake, though there are differences between glass lizard and snakes. Glass lizards’ long tail gives them a snake-like appearance; however, unlike snakes, they have moveable eyelids and external ear openings.
Four species of glass lizards can be found in Florida and belong to the genus Ophisaurus.
Their sizes range from 15-40 inches long and are usually tan, brown, or greenish, and may have dark stripes down their backs. As the name suggests, glass lizards have remarkably smooth, shiny scales reinforced by bones called ‘osteoderms’, which make the body very hard and brittle. This can result in the tail breaking easily. Thus, they are often seen with broken tails in the process of regrowth. Glass lizards have grooves down each side of their body that allow them to expand when they breathe or are full of food or when a female is full of eggs.
Glass lizards live in wet meadows, grasslands, pine flatwoods, pine scrubs, hardwood hammocks, and other open woods, sometimes seen in suburban neighborhoods. They are often found under boards and other debris on the ground and spend most of their time burrowed underground. Glass lizard diet consists of various insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, small reptiles, and possibly small rodents.
Photo Credit: Lynn Marie
Author: Destiny Alvarez – Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Oregon
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Florida Scrub Lizard

Florida Scrub Lizard
Found only in Florida, the Florida scrub lizard, Sceloporus woodi, is only found in scrub ecosystems in the peninsula of Florida. Its range is fragmented, comprised of 3 main populations.
One population is in the center of the peninsula, mostly along the Lake Wales Ridge in Putnam, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Polk, and Highlands counties. The second is in the Ocala National Forest which contains the most habitat for this species. The third area is along the east coast from Brevard County south to Miami-Dade County. This last population has been shrunk down to now only extending south to Palm Beach County due to loss of habitat.
There was a 4th population that occurred on the gulf coast in Lee and Collier Counties, but that population has been extirpated due to loss of habitat. The last time an individual was sighted in that area was in 1994.
Florida scrub lizards are habitat specialists. They require open scrub with large areas of bare sand, but also trees and shrubs to provide shade during the heat of the day. Scrub rosemary inhibits other plant growth that provides this open area. Fire also helps to keep the scrub open for this species, as well as many others. A loss of suitable habitat due to fire suppression as well as development is the number one threat to Florida scrub lizards.
While not officially protected, this species has been under review and while not listed as threatened or endangered, without protections given the ecosystems they inhabit, their populations will continue to decline.
This is a small, insect-eating species that only grows to about 5 inches. It is one of two species in Florida of the genus Sceloporus, the other being the eastern fence lizard. While these two species look similar and have overlapping ranges in Florida, the Florida scrub lizard can be distinguished by the solid brown stripe running laterally down the lizard. The males will have an unmarked back and a blue belly. Females will sometimes have a slight bluish hue to their bellies, but nothing like the bright blue of the male.
Due to the fragmented populations and extremely limited ability for the species to disperse, the different populations contain a high degree of genetic diversity from each other. This fact has to be taken into account with any management plans for the species. In 2019, 100 lizards from Martin County were relocated to the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area in central Palm Beach County. This area is 23 miles south of their current range in the Atlantic coast population.
When in scrub areas in their range, keep your eye out for this beautiful Florida resident!
Photo Credit: Andy Waldo
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Indo-Pacific Gecko

Indo-Pacific Gecko

Many of you may have seen these little brown lizards scurrying around the lights outside of your house at night. But did you know that this little girl holds an amazing secret? She is an Indo-Pacific Gecko, Hemidactylus garnotii, and she, like all of her sisters, is parthenogenic! As her name implies, this little Indo-Pacific gecko is not native to Florida, but instead is from southeast Asia. But, its ability to hide out in shipping containers and its unique reproductive strategy has made it easy for this species to spread.

Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction where the embryo is able to develop without the introduction of a sperm cell. There are several different types of parthenogenic reproduction, but let’s look at this little gecko species specifically. Indo-Pacific geckos are all female and reproduce by apomictic parthenogenesis. This means egg cells develop directly into embryos and are genetic clones of the mother. In Indo-Pacific geckos, the method of reproduction is via obligate parthenogenesis. This means this species reproduces entirely through asexual means.

So, since this species can spread with a single individual, it’s no wonder they have become such a widespread species. The earliest known specimen was found in Florida in 1963 and arrived through cargo shipments. They can be found over much of the state, but seem to be found mostly around man-made structures. The impacts of this non-native species are unknown at this time. There are several species of gecko in Florida that are also non-native, and look similar to the Indo-Pacific gecko, the most common of these is the Mediterranean gecko.

The Indo-Pacific Gecko can be identified by its smooth skin, toe pads, and orange color under the tail. In the images, you can see two eggs developing in this female right through her skin! They are insectivores and will hang around your porch lights at night in hopes of catching an easy meal. They have many predators in Florida. Snakes, large frogs, birds, and other nocturnal lizard eaters all make this gecko part of their diet.

Photo Credit: Andy Waldo

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