NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Snake-eyed Lizard
Ophisops elegans Ménétries, 1832
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Ophisops elegans, commonly known as the snake-eyed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Mediterranean region and Central Asia. There are nine recognized subspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Ophisops elegans; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:38:01.565612+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ophisops elegans Ménétries, 1832
- Name authority
- Ménétries, 1832
- Common name
- Snake-eyed Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Lacertidae
- Genus
- Ophisops
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyLacertidae
- genusOphisops
- speciesOphisops elegans Ménétries, 1832
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ophisops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Jerdon’s Snake eyeOphisops jerdonii Blyth, 1853 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Small-scaled lacertaOphisops microlepis Blanford, 1870 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Beddome’ s lacertaOphisops beddomei (Jerdon, 1870) | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kutch small-scaled snake-eyeOphisops kutchensis Agarwal, Khandekar, Ramakrishnan, Vyas & Giri, 2018 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophisops venustus Patel, Vyas, Thackeray, Pal & Mirza, 2024 | LacertidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ohisops elegans Khalaf, 1961 Khalaf, 1961 | synonym |
| Amystes ehrenbergi Wiegmann, 1835 Wiegmann, 1835 | synonym |
| Ophiops schlueteri Boettger, 1880 Boettger, 1880 | synonym |
| Gymnops meizolepis Stoliczka, 1872 Stoliczka, 1872 | synonym |
| Ophisops blanfordi Schmidt, 1939 Schmidt, 1939 | synonym |
| Ophisops macrodactylus Berthold, 1840 Berthold, 1840 | synonym |
| Ophiops elegans var. persicus Boulenger, 1918 Boulenger, 1918 | synonym |
| Amystes ehrenbergii Wiegmann, 1835 Wiegmann, 1835 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Ophisops&species=elegans Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6SQ3T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.