Some lizards have evolved appearances that make them look remarkably similar to snakes. At first glance, their long, slender bodies and smooth scales can easily fool an observer into thinking they are serpents. This resemblance is not accidental—it serves as a clever form of mimicry that helps them avoid predators in the wild.
Unlike most of their kind, these creatures have either very small limbs or none visible at all. Their movement is fluid and serpentine, allowing them to glide across the ground, burrow through soil, or slip through vegetation with the same grace as a snake. This mode of locomotion is both efficient and deceptive, adding to their snake-like illusion.
Their coloration often contributes to the disguise. Some display glossy patterns of brown, gray, or black that closely resemble the markings of local snake species. These natural color schemes help them blend into their surroundings and reinforce their false identity when confronted by potential threats.
Despite their appearance, they differ from true snakes in subtle ways. Their eyes may have movable eyelids, and their bodies often retain traces of external ear openings—features that snakes lack. However, these distinctions are easy to miss, especially when they move swiftly through grass or sand.
The mimicry provides a strong evolutionary advantage. Many predators hesitate to attack creatures that resemble venomous or dangerous snakes, allowing these impostors to survive longer and reproduce more successfully. Over time, natural selection has refined their resemblance, making it even more convincing.
Lizards that Look Like Snakes
European Slowworm (Anguis fragilis)
Found in: Europe and parts of Asia.
Despite its common name, this is a legless lizard, not a worm or a snake. It has a smooth, cylindrical body and can be distinguished from snakes by its blinking eyelids and the ability to detach its tail (autotomy).
California Legless Lizard (Anniella pulchra)
Found in: Sandy, loose soils of coastal and Southern California and Baja California.
This small, burrowing lizard is highly adapted to a subterranean life. It is shiny and scaled like a snake but has movable eyelids, external ear openings, and a blunt tail, unlike snakes.
Sheltopusik / European Glass Lizard (Pseudopus apodus)
Found in: Southeastern Europe and Central Asia.
One of the world’s largest legless lizards, it can reach over 4 feet in length. It is often mistaken for a snake but has visible ear openings and the ability to autotomize its tail, which can break into several pieces (hence “glass lizard”).
Burton’s Snake-Lizard (Lialis burtonis)
Found in: Australia and New Guinea.
This is a highly specialized legless lizard from the pygopodid family. It has a wedge-shaped head and preys almost exclusively on other lizards, which it swallows whole, much like a snake.
Eastern Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)
Found in: The southeastern United States.
This long, slender lizard is often mistaken for a “glass snake.” It lacks functional limbs and has a deep groove running along each side of its body. Its tail can make up to two-thirds of its total length and shatters easily when seized.
Worm Lizard (Amphisbaenia)
Found in: Africa, South America, parts of North America, and Europe.
While not a true lizard or a snake, but a separate suborder, amphisbaenians are burrowing reptiles that are almost always mistaken for worms or snakes. Their name means “to go both ways,” as their head and tail look remarkably similar.
Scaly-foot (Pygopus lepidopodus)
Found in: Southern and Eastern Australia.
A member of the pygopodid family, the Scaly-foot has completely lost its front limbs, and its rear limbs are reduced to tiny, flap-like scales. It is often called a “legless gecko” and flicks its tongue like a snake to sense its environment.
Italian Three-toed Skink (Chalcides chalcides)
Found in: Southern Europe and North Africa.
This skink has an extremely elongated body and very tiny, almost vestigial legs with three toes each. When it moves through grass, it slithers so fluidly that it is almost indistinguishable from a small, smooth-scaled snake.
Jersey Giant Slider (Lygosoma subspecies)
Found in: Jersey (Channel Islands), though this name often refers to large, snake-like skinks in the Lygosoma genus found in Asia and Africa.
These skinks have elongated bodies, small heads, and reduced limbs. Their serpentine movement through leaf litter and undergrowth is a classic example of convergent evolution with snakes.
Hooded Scaly-foot (Pygopus nigriceps)
Found in: The arid regions of Australia.
This species flattens its neck and raises its body in a defensive posture that mimics a venomous snake. Combined with its complete lack of forelimbs and vestigial hind limbs, this mimicry makes it a convincing snake imposter.
Striped Legless Lizard (Delma impar)
Found in: The grasslands and grassy woodlands of southeastern Australia.
This lizard has no forelimbs and its hind limbs are reduced to tiny, flap-like scales. Its long, slender, striped body and serpentine movement through grass tussocks make it nearly indistinguishable from a small, harmless snake.
Pink-tongued Skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii)
Found in: The rainforests and moist forests of eastern Australia.
While it possesses small but functional limbs, its exceptionally elongated body and habit of constantly flicking its distinctive pink tongue are highly reminiscent of a snake’s behavior, often causing confusion at first glance.
Cape Legless Skink (Acontias meleagris)
Found in: The coastal regions and fynbos of South Africa.
A completely limbless skink that lives a secretive, burrowing life. Its smooth, shiny scales and pointed head are perfect adaptations for moving through sand and soil, making it a near-perfect double for a small, burrowing snake.
Long-tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Found in: Grasslands and open forests across Southeast Asia.
This lizard’s body is dominated by an extremely long, slender tail. When it moves rapidly through vegetation, its body and tail create a continuous whipping, undulating motion that is almost identical to the movement of a snake.
Keeled Legless Lizard (Pletholax gracilis)
Found in: The southwestern coast of Western Australia.
A small, limbless lizard distinguished by the keeled (ridged) scales on its body. It navigates its habitat under leaf litter and logs with a perfectly serpentine motion, easily mistaken for a young snake.
Snake-eyed Lizard (Ophisops elegans)
Found in: Arid and semi-arid regions of Southern Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia.
This sleek lizard has large eyes with immovable, transparent eyelids, like a snake, giving it a fixed, unblinking stare. Its slender body and rapid, slithering runs through low brush enhance its snake-like impression.
Giant Legless Lizard (Lialis jicari)
Found in: New Guinea.
Despite the name “giant,” this species is a moderately sized, limbless lizard from the pygopodid family. It has a very long, pointed snout and preys on other reptiles, which it swallows whole, mimicking the feeding behavior of many snakes.
Richardson’s Skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii)
Found in: Eastern Australia.
This is another name for the Pink-tongued Skink, emphasizing its different common names. Its long, flexible body and snake-like tongue-flicking behavior are its most notable serpentine characteristics.
Burton’s Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis)
Found in: Australia and New Guinea.
This species is a master of mimicry. Not only is it completely limbless, but it also has a long, pointed snout and a hinged jaw for swallowing skinks whole, making its hunting strategy and appearance remarkably snake-like.
Sand-swimming Skink (Eremiascincus richardsonii)
Found in: The arid deserts of central Australia.
This skink has greatly reduced limbs. When it “swims” just beneath the surface of loose desert sand, its limbs become irrelevant, and its body moves in a seamless, undulating motion identical to that of a sidewinding or sand-swimming snake.
Sharp-snouted Worm Lizard (Anops kingii)
Found in: South America, particularly in Brazil and Argentina.
A species of amphisbaenian, this limbless, burrowing reptile has a bullet-shaped head and a body with annulated (ring-like) scales. Its pinkish color and subterranean habits make it a near-perfect mimic of a large earthworm or a blind snake.