Amastridium veliferum
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The rustyhead snake (Amastridium veliferum), also known commonly as the rufous-headed snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Central America and Colombia. Amastridium veliferum is one of only two recognized species in the genus Amastridium.
Amastridium veliferum is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. The preferred natural habitat of A. veliferum is forest, at altitudes of 2–1,200 m (6.6–3,937.0 ft). Amastridium veliferum is oviparous.
Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Genus Amastridium and species A. veliferum, p. 352).
Cope ED (1860). "Descriptions of Reptiles from Tropical America and Asia". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1860: 368-374. (Amastridium, new genus, p. 370; A. veliferum, new species, pp. 370–371). Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofaua Mexicana Vol... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rustyhead Snake sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 64 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, May–June and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rustyhead Snake in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, July–October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rustyhead Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Arenal Volcano National Park, in our data
Arenal Volcano National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rustyhead Snake sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Rustyhead Snake that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Ornate Cat-eyed Snake (about 30%), Cloudy Snail-eating Snake (about 20%) and Blunthead Tree Snake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rustyhead Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
