Philodryas patagoniensis
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Philodryas patagoniensis, also known as the Patagonia green racer, is a species of rear-fanged (opisthoglyphous) venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to cis-Andean South America from northern Argentina to northeastern Brazil; despite its name, most of its range is outside Patagonia.
P. patagoniensis is a medium-sized, cylindrical and robust snake, with a moderately long tail. It can grow to a maximum total length (including tail) of 150 cm (59 in). The snout is rounded. The eye is medium-sized with a round pupil. The dorsal scales are smooth with unique apical scores.
P. patagoniensis is terrestrial, fundamentally arboreal when foraging, and has daytime habits. It has a brownish color that helps in its camouflage. P. patagoniensis has sexual dimorphism in adult specimens. Females have a longer body, with greater corpulence, while males have a longer tail. Females are born with a greater rostro-cloacal length and reach sexual maturity later than males, about 2-years-old. Males can reach sexual maturity at 1-year-old. Reproduction is seasonal, with the vitellogenic season occurring between... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Patagonian Racer sighting in São Paulo on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 19th most-seen of the 23 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.
February and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Patagonian Racer in São Paulo on a given day, against under 5% in January and March–November, the lowest months. Those are among São Paulo's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain a month against 35 mm in August.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Patagonian Racer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only São Paulo, in our data
São Paulo is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Patagonian Racer sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Patagonian Racer that you can see in São Paulo (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Pampas Snake (about 10%), Brazilian Slug-eating Snake (about 10%) and Military Ground Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Patagonian Racer is recorded against all the reptiles logged in São Paulo (8 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.
