Enuliophis sclateri
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The Colombian longtail snake (Enuliophis sclateri), also known commonly as the sock-headed snake and the white-headed snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the humid forests of Central America and northern South America.
The species was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1894 under the name Leptocalamus sciateri. The species was later placed in Enulius, and remained there until 1993, when James R. McCranie and Jaime Villa designated the species as the sole member of the new genus Enuliophis, which as of 2026 remains monotypic.
The name Enuliophis is derived from the Greek words hen (one), oule (scar or mark) and ophis (snake), and is allusion to the genus Enulius, the species of which, according to James R. McCranie, Enuliophis sciateri shares a resemblance with.
The specific name, sclateri, is in honor of British zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater, who donated the holotype to the British Museum (Natural History), where Boulenger worked. E. sclateri can be found in the humid forests of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, at elevations ranging from sea level... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed 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–April and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed snake in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and May–November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-headed snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate White-headed snake sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%), Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Cahuita National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the White-headed 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 White-headed 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.
