Compsophis laphystius
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Compsophis laphystius is a species of snake in the subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae of the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. The preferred natural habitat of C. laphystius is the riparian zone of humid forest.
C. laphystius preys upon frogs. C. laphystius is oviparous. Cadle JE (1996). "Systematics of Snakes of the Genus Geodipsas (Colubridae) from Madagascar, with Descriptions of New Species and Observations on Natural History". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 155 (2): 33–87. (Geodipsas laphystia, new species, pp. 35–44, Figures 1, 3).
Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. ISBN 978-3929449-03-7. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Ranomafana Big-headed Snake sighting in Ranomafana National Park on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 29 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Ranomafana Big-headed Snake in Ranomafana National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–September, the lowest months. That is one of Ranomafana National Park's wettest months, with about 430 mm of rain against 80 mm in September.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ranomafana Big-headed Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Ranomafana National Park, in our data
Ranomafana National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Ranomafana Big-headed Snake sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Pseudoxyrhophiidae
The closest relatives of the Ranomafana Big-headed Snake that you can see in Ranomafana National Park (family Pseudoxyrhophiidae, Madagascar Brook Snakes) are Madagascar Cat-eyed Snake (about 30%), Forest Water Snake (about 30%) and Three-striped Ground Snake (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ranomafana Big-headed Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Ranomafana National Park (25 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.
