So, these lizard without legs, an entirely new undiscovered species were found near LAX. Pretty cool.

link

What I wanted to read is why they are not snakes. I skimmed 2 articles, and found no explanation why they aren't snakes. I am sure scientists have this right, but I, as a thinker want to have the article include the features that make them distinct from snakes despite their appearance.

Took a few, but here is what makes them different:

Legless lizard may refer to any of several groups of lizards which have independently lost limbs or reduced them to the point of being of no use in locomotion. These lizards are often distinguishable from snakes on the basis of one or more of the following characteristics: possessing eyelids, possessing external ear openings, lack of broad belly scales, and/or a very long tail (while snakes have a long body and short tail).

Amy was telling me about that yesterday. Pretty cool. I got a chance to see (and hold) a legless lizard at the National Zoo in Washington DC 2 years ago. Here's my son holding it.

That's a great pic. From this I can see that the head is indeed more "lizard-like".

Nice looking kid, too. I believe our sons are quite close in age if I remember.

Oh crap - I thought this was about Congress !!

You misread legless as brainless?

Don't tread on me? I'm not really a snake?

'zackly! I thought
"Hmm somebody hadn't been
paying much attention from 2000-2008"

If it weren't for the internet, it might have been so - not knowing enough about the legless lizards et al. I was still writing letters and posting them because phone calls were too expensive when I first moved to Japan.

Now I can keep tabs on most everything, follow elections over there quite closely, looking into single districts all from my Mac, buy stuff from over there in a few minutes, and watch and comment on Breaking Bad's latest episode as fast as anyone over there.

There is the added benefit that I can choose to largely ignore stuff that I don't give the proverbial rat patootie about like Lindsay Lohan (who I never knew existed until Matt posted about her here once) and Jersey Shore. Life is good - except for all the crap over here I have to deal with.

Back on topic, not that one; the one after it waxed political:

"any of several groups of lizards which have independently lost limbs or reduced them to the point of being of no use in locomotion."

Who does that describe?