California legless Lizard

Anniella pulchra

The California legless lizard is a limbless, burrowing lizard often mistaken for a snake.
Closeup of California Legless Lizard (Anniella pulchra) These lizards are not simple to find, but their populations have been found to be surprisingly dense. Their elusiveness is due to the fact that they are nearly always underground. Geotagged,Spring,United States

Appearance

These lizards are around 7 inches long from snout to vent . They have small, smooth scales typically colored silvery above and yellow below, although black or dark brown forms exist in Monterey County, California which were thought to be a separate subspecies at one point.

Distribution

They live in loose, sandy soils or leaf litter, typically in sand dunes along the coast. They are found from Contra Costa County in northern California, all the way south to Baja California, although occurrences are often scattered. They require moisture to aid in shedding their skin. Without it, their vision and feeding can be affected, potentially starving the animal.

Habitat

They live in loose, sandy soils or leaf litter, typically in sand dunes along the coast. They are found from Contra Costa County in northern California, all the way south to Baja California, although occurrences are often scattered. They require moisture to aid in shedding their skin. Without it, their vision and feeding can be affected, potentially starving the animal.

Reproduction

Males are slightly smaller than females, otherwise there is no discernible difference between the two sexes. Females are ovoviviparous and probably breed between early spring and July, with 1 to 4 young born September-November. Young lizards resemble their parents except look like smaller versions of them.

Food

Their diet consists of mainly beetles, larval insects, termites, ants, and spiders.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyAnniellidae
GenusAnniella
SpeciesA. pulchra