If you’re wandering around beach dunes or marsh trails in the Charleston area, you might just spot something that looks like a snake sliding through the underbrush.

But with a closer look, you may realize you’ve actually stumbled upon an eastern glass lizard, one of South Carolina’s most fascinating reptiles.

Unlike snakes, these limbless reptiles don’t slither smoothly, and they have eyelids and external ear openings.

Due to their tightly packed hard scales, when glass lizards move, they appear to thrash about, which is quite distinct from the slinking movements of snakes, said Allison Welch, associate professor of biology at the College of Charleston.

“When someone is not sure if they’ve seen a lizard or a snake, one easily noticeable feature is this style of movement,” Welch said.

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