584 



GLASS SLOW-WORM. 



Anguis Ventralis. A, nigro-virescens, Jiavo punctatus, ahdomine 



breoissimo flam, mlco laterali. 

 Blackish-green Slow-Worm, speckled with yellow, with very 



short yellow abdomen, with a lateral furrow. 

 Anguis ventralis. Lin. Syst, Nat. p. 923. 

 Glass Snake. Catesb. Carol. 2. pi. 5g. 

 Abdominal scales 127, subcaudal 222. 



This is a moderately large and handsome spe- 

 cies : general length about a foot and half or two 

 feet : colour greenish brown, elegantly mottled with 

 small pale yellow and black freckles : the under 

 parts pale yellow : the head small : from the cor- 

 ners of the mouth to the vent, along each side of the 

 body, runs a deep furrow, separating the abdomen, 

 which is rjemarkably short, from the upper parts : 

 the tail is more than twice the length of the abdo- 

 men, and terminates somewhat more acutely than 

 is usual in this genus : the body is marked above 

 by several rows of slightly elevated striae, which 

 give the animal a general resemblance, except in 

 colour, to the remarkable lizard termed Lacerta 

 apoda. This species is a native of North Ame- 

 rica, and is not uncommon in Carolina, where it 

 is known by the name of the Glass Snake. Ca- 

 tesby informs us that a small blow of a stick 

 causes the body to separate, not only at the place 

 struck, but at two or three other places, the mus^ 

 cles being articulated quite through the verte* 

 br«." 



