Chalcides ocellatus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Chalcides ocellatus, or the ocellated skink (also known as the eyed skink or gongilo) is a species of skink found in Greece, southern Italy, Malta, Lebanon, UAE, Israel, Palestine, and parts of northern Africa. It is also found in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.
As an adult, it generally reaches about 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in) of length with a 22 to 39 g weight and has a small head, cylindrical body, and five toes on each foot. They are very agile and are often found in arid areas. It is strongly related to Chalcides colosii, and C. colosii was formerly considered a subspecies of C. ocellatus. C. ocellatus is notable for the presence of ocelli and for its wide variety of coloration patterns. Females of the species give birth to 2-6 live young through viviparity.
Chalcides ocellatus is considered to be a generalist species and can be found in a wide variety of environments, such as farmland and gravel deserts around the Mediterranean coast. Its main escape tactic from predators is to run behind vegetation, most likely because it is not suited to run very fast. Although this species has very smooth scales and is capable of "sand-swimming" behavior in loose sand or soil... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yaroslavl Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Reserva Zoológica Oasys MiniHollywood | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany |
No species of the same family or order lives in Dubai, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ocellated Bronze Skink sighting in Dubai on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 6 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–June, August, October and December–January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ocellated Bronze Skink in Dubai on a given day, against under 5% in July, September and November, the lowest months.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Ocellated Bronze Skink sightings, Dubai ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Athens (Greece, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ocellated Bronze Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Dubai (19 verified sightings), 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.
