A large limbless lizard, Ophiosaurus ventralis, with a very brittle tail: mentioned in Mortimer’s ‘Nat. Hist. of North Carolina,’ 1736. (N.E.D.)
1796. The glass snake.… A small blow with a stick will separate the body, not only at the place struck, but at two or three other places, the muscles being articulated in a singular manner quite through to the vertebra.—Morse, ‘American Geography,’ i. 221. (N.E.D.)
1797. The glass snake has its name from its fragility. This animal is said to be so brittle that it will break into several pieces by a fall; and the pieces are supposed to have the power of uniting again. Mr. Catesby mentions a snake in Carolina, which did break into three or four pieces by a fall; but, having been dead for some time, it might thus become more brittle.—Mass. Spy, Oct. 25.
