BLINDWORM, the name applied in Great Britain to the legless lizard Angius fragilis (see SLOW WORM) and in America to several allied species, of which the best known is the glass snake (Ophiosaurus ventralis), which ranges from Illinois to Florida and Mexico. All possess the power of breaking off the tail if seized thereby, and are perfectly harmless. The term is also applied to small tropical and subtropical burrowing snakes of the family Typhlopidae, numerous species of which inhabit America; and to the Coecilia, which are Amphibia (q.v.).