Duberria lutrix
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~80%
Duberria lutrix, or the common slug eater, is a small, ovoviviparous, molluscivorous, non-venomous snake, which is endemic to Africa. Adults can be up to thirty to forty cm (approximately twelve to sixteen inches). The common slug eater's colour can vary, but they typically have an olive green to brown or russet back, grey flanks, a yellowish or cream belly, and a black, more or less complete, vertebral stripe.
This species is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Six subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.
Duberria lutrix abyssinica (Boulenger, 1894) Duberria lutrix atriventris Sternfeld, 1912 Duberria lutrix basilewskyi Skelton-Bourgeois, 1961 Duberria lutrix currylindahli Laurent, 1956 Duberria lutrix lutrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Duberria lutrix rhodesiana Broadley, 1958 As the name implies, the common slug eater is a specialised predator and feeds on snails and slugs, mostly finding its prey through chemoreception, using its tongue. It swallows its prey quickly before too much defensive... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
No species of the same family or order lives in De Hoop Nature Reserve, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Slug-eater sighting in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 18 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September–October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Slug-eater in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Slug-eater sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Common Slug-eater sightings, De Hoop Nature Reserve ranks 3rd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 20%) and Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Slug-eater is recorded against all the reptiles logged in De Hoop Nature Reserve (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
