Pygopus nigriceps
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The hooded scaly-foot (Pygopus nigriceps), also known as western scaly-foot, black-headed scaly-foot or western hooded scaly-foot, is an endemic Australian legless lizard of the family Pygopodidae. Adult hooded scaly-foots range from 45 to 55 cm long, with an average snout to vent length of 22.7 cm. Females are generally larger than males. Hooded scaly-foots show no trace of forelimbs, whilst the hind limbs are reduced to scaly flaps. These hind limbs are small and paddle-shaped, with modified scales which do not aid in movement.
The scales of the hooded scaly-foot are smooth and weakly glossed. Usually, it has 120 or more ventral scales, which are in a paired series, much larger than the adjacent body scales. Body colour varies from brown to reddish-brown, with desert specimens usually a more orangish colour and other individuals a duller brown. It is white below. The species has little to no body pattern, with oblique dark lines converging mid-dorsally.
These scaly-foots are characterised by black bands across the head and neck which may look like a hood. This hood comprises a band across the eyes onto the lips, a dark smudge on the nostrils, and a broad band across... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Scaly Foot sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 24th most-seen of the 29 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Scaly Foot in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and December, the lowest months. That is one of Ningaloo Marine Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 50 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed Scaly Foot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Black-headed Scaly Foot sightings, Ningaloo Marine Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Scaly Foot is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Ningaloo Marine Park (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.
