Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Oenpelli python or Oenpelli rock python (Simalia oenpelliensis or Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis) is a species of large snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to the sandstone massif area of the western Arnhem Land region in the Northern Territory of Australia. There are no subspecies that are recognised as being valid. It has been called the rarest python in the world. Two notable characteristics of the species are the unusually large size of its eggs and its ability to change colour. It is the longest snake native to the Northern Territory.
The Oenpelli python was assigned to a taxonomy in 1977 by Gow, who placed it in the genus Python. It was then categorised by Cogger and Cameron as a species of Morelia. In 1984, Wells and Wellington placed it into a new genus Nyctophilopython, and in 2014, a work by Reynolds, Niemiller, and Revell proposed to classify it as Simalia.
The specific name, oenpelliensis, is derived from the type locality, which is given as "6.5 km S.W. of Oenpelli, Northern Territory, Australia (12°21'S, 133°01'E)". In 2020, the name Nawaran was erected for the genus, overlooking the available name Nyctophilopython for... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Oenpelli Rock Python sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 54 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Oenpelli Rock Python in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months. That is one of Kakadu National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 350 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oenpelli Rock Python sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Kakadu National Park, in our data
Kakadu National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Oenpelli Rock Python sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Pythonidae
The closest relatives of the Oenpelli Rock Python that you can see in Kakadu National Park (family Pythonidae, Pythons) are Children's Python (about 30%), Water Python (about 30%) and Olive Python (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oenpelli Rock Python is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kakadu National Park (10 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.
