biology

Hart's glass lizard

Hart's glass lizard is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hart's glass lizard rather than just read about it. In short: Dopasia harti, also known commonly as the Chinese glass lizard and Hart's glass lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is native to south-eastern Asia.

Key takeaways

Hart's glass lizard belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hart's glass lizard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hart's glass lizard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Dopasia harti, also known commonly as the Chinese glass lizard and Hart's glass lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is native to south-eastern Asia.

Etymology The specific name, harti, is in honor of Robert Hart, who was a British customs official in China.

Distribution D. harti is found in southern China, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam.

Habitat The preferred natural habitat of D. harti is forest, at altitudes of 400–2,600 m (1,300–8,500 ft), but it has also been found in farmland.

Description D. harti is limbless.

Behavior D. harti is terrestrial and fossorial.

Reproduction D. harti is oviparous. From June to September, the female of the species may lay a clutch of 4–13 eggs under leaf litter or rocks, and then stay with the eggs to guard them.

References

Further reading Boulenger GA (1899). "On a Collection of Reptiles and Batrachians made by Mr. J. D. La Touche in N. W. Fokien, China". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1899: 159–172 + Plates XVI–XIX. (Ophisaurus harti, new species, p. 160–161, Figure 1 + Plate XVI). Conrad, Jack L.; Ast, Jennifer C.; Montanari, Shaena; Norell, Mark A. (2011). "A combined evidence phylogenetic analysis of Anguimorpha (Reptilia: Squamata)". Cladistics 27 (3): 230–277. (Dopasia harti, new combination). doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00330.x Kishida K (1930). "Notes on a Formosan Lizard of the Family Anguidae". Lansania, Tokyo 2 (18): 124–128. (Ophisaurus formosensis, new species). Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + plate I + 2 maps. (Ophisaurus harti, pp. 394–395). Stejneger L (1919). "The 'Glass-Snake' of Formosa". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 32: 142. (Ophisaurus harti).

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hart's glass lizard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hart's glass lizard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hart's glass lizard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hart's glass lizard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hart's glass lizard

In research: Hart's glass lizard appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hart's glass lizard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hart's glass lizard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dopasia, IUCN Red List least concern species, Lizard stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hart's glass lizard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hart's glass lizard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hart's glass lizard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hart's glass lizard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hart's glass lizard in simple terms?

Dopasia harti, also known commonly as the Chinese glass lizard and Hart's glass lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is native to south-eastern Asia.

Why does Hart's glass lizard matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hart's glass lizard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hart's glass lizard.