Cryptophis nigrescens
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Cryptophis nigrescens, commonly known as the eastern small-eyed snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to eastern Australia. Cryptophis nigrescens was described by Albert Günther in 1862, assigning the new species to Hoplocephalus.
Cryptophis nigrescens is found in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. Common names for the species include short-tailed snake, small-eyed snake, and eastern small-eyed snake. Cryptophis nigrescens is viviparous.
Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ)... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Denisonia nigrescens, p. 343).
Günther A (1862). "On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series 9: 124–132. (Hoplocephalus nigrescens, new species, p. 131 + Plate IX, figure 12). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bear Hollow Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small-eyed Snake sighting in Royal National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 37 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Small-eyed Snake in Royal National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June, August–October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small-eyed Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Small-eyed Snake sightings, Royal National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Springbrook National Park (Australia, about 30%), Lamington National Park (Australia, about 20%) and Daintree National Park (Australia, about 20%).
Same family: Elapidae
The closest relatives of the Small-eyed Snake that you can see in Royal National Park (family Elapidae, Elapid Snakes) are Red-bellied Black Snake (about 30%), Yellow-faced Whipsnake (about 20%) and Golden Crowned Snake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small-eyed Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Royal National Park (7 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.
