Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus
Silhouette: Vijay Karthick · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus, the Sri Lankan pit viper, Ceylon pit viper, Sri Lankan green pitviper or locally, pala polonga, (Sinhala: පළා පොළඟා) is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Sri Lanka. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus is a sexually dimorphic, mid-sized, cylindrical species. These snakes measure 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in) at birth, and males grow to a maximum total length of 60–75 cm (24–30 in). The neck is distinct from the flattened, triangular head. There is a loreal pit on each side of the head. Mid-sized eyes and a short, rounded, broad snout are present. The males are considerably smaller than females, which can grow up to 130 cm (51 in) in total length. The ground color of the snake is variable and cryptic. Typically, it is a green snake with a black variegated pattern, and a black temporal line is usually present. The wet zone snakes have these black patterns more clearly marked. The vertebral area has a tinge of yellow. The tail is black. The ventral scales are light greenish-yellow or may even be grey. Some snakes have only the black temporal line and the black tail, with the rest of the body being green... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skansen | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 2 | Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Zoo Atlanta | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Faunia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Reptile Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Staten Island Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Baltic Sea Science Center | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Ceylon Pit Viper sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 277 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 32 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April–May, July, September and November
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Ceylon Pit Viper in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 80% in March, June, August, October and December, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ceylon Pit Viper sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Sinharaja Forest Reserve, in our data
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Ceylon Pit Viper sightings: about 80% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Viperidae
The closest relatives of the Ceylon Pit Viper that you can see in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (family Viperidae, Vipers) are Lowland Hump-nosed Viper (about 50%) and Russell's Viper (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ceylon Pit Viper is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (277 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.
