Rena humilis
Silhouette: Jessica Tingle · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Rena humilis, known commonly as the western blind snake, the western slender blind snake, and the western threadsnake, is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Six subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominate subspecies described here.
R. humilis, like most species in the family Leptotyphlopidae, resembles a long earthworm. It lives underground in burrows, and since it has no use for vision, its eyes are mostly vestigial. The western blind snake is pink, purple, or silvery-brown in color, shiny, wormlike, cylindrical, blunt at both ends, and has light-detecting black eyespots. The skull is thick to permit burrowing, and it has a spine at the end of its tail that it uses for leverage. It is usually less than 30 cm (12 in) in total length (tail included), and is as thin as an earthworm. This species and other blind snakes are fluorescent under low frequency ultraviolet light (black light).
On the top of the head, between the ocular scales, L. humilis has only one scale (L. dulcis has three scales). R. humilis is found in the southwestern... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in San Diego, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Threadsnake sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 20th most-seen of the 29 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Threadsnake in San Diego on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of San Diego's driest months, with almost no rain against 55 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Threadsnake 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.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Western Threadsnake sightings, San Diego has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Los Angeles (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Threadsnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in San Diego (23 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.
