Blanus cinereus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (Blanus cinereus) is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia. The Iberian worm lizard is locally known as cobra-cega (Portuguese), culebrilla ciega (Spanish), and colobreta cega (Catalan), all meaning "blind snake". Recent studies into the mitochondrial and nuclear genomic data of 47 isolated B. cinereus populations show rather large sequence divergence between two apparent clades, leading some researchers to call for a division of the Iberian worm lizard into two species. While little is known of B. cinereus in comparison with some other reptile species, new insight is growing about this primitive, ancestral reptile.
The Iberian worm lizard is found within Portugal and through most of central and southern Spain. B. cinereus is a subterranean species found in a wide variety of Mediterranean habitats. Their abundance in population in different regions is difficult to determine due to their subterranean nature. However, studies on B. cinereus activity have shown the organism's ability to survive in habitats between 400 meters... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lisbon | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
No species of the same family or order lives in Lisbon, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard sighting in Lisbon on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 21 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard in Lisbon on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard 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 Lisbon, in our data
Lisbon is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Lisbon (59 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.
