Scolecophis atrocinctus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Scolecophis is a genus of snake in the family Colubridae that contains the sole species Scolecophis atrocinctus. Its genus name is derived from Greek: skolex meaning a worm or grub and ophis meaning snake, referring to what it likes to eat. Its species name is derived from Latin ater meaning black and cingula meaning girdle referring to its physical appearance. It is commonly known as the black-banded snake.
It is found in Central America. It ranges from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Their diet consists of invertebrates such as centipede, arachnids, worms, crickets, millipedes, and grubs. This snake reaches a length of 18–24 in. (45–60 cm.) It is black and white banded with red spots on the white bands down their spine from head to tail. They have tiny eyes and a flat head.
There is still a lot of unknown about this species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-banded Snake sighting in San José on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 24 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-banded Snake in San José on a given day, against under 5% in February–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-banded Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only San José, in our data
San José is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black-banded Snake sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Black-banded Snake that you can see in San José (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Spotted Coffee Snake (about 10%), Hoffmann's Earth Snake (about 10%) and Green Rat Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-banded Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in San José (5 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.
