205. Black legless lizard: Struggling to Survive in Shifting Sands (1 minute and 9 seconds)
Amy Palkovic, Environmental Scientist
Hi! I am Amy Palkovic, an Environmental Scientist for State Parks.
Do you know
what creature looks like a pencil-sized snake and will rarely be seen above
ground? The answer is a
These lizards
range in color from silvery gray to brown or black on their backside, while
their throat and belly are typically yellow.
In young lizards, the belly might be a pale pink. Once classified as a separate subspecies, the
black legless lizard is now considered to be a dark form of the
They spend most of their lives below the surface of the sand and only occasionally venture above ground.
They eat larval insects, small adult insects, and spiders. They are eaten by snakes, birds, small mammals, and domestic cats.
Instead of laying eggs like most lizards, they bear 1 to 4 live young, which are usually born between September and November.
Even though you
probably will not see a legless lizard,