Rhinotyphlops lalandei
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Rhinotyphlops lalandei, known commonly as Delalande's beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa. The specific name, lalandei, is in honor of French naturalist Pierre Antoine Delalande.
R. lalandei is a slender, pinkish-grey, blind snake, which has a pointed nose that it uses for burrowing. It may attain a maximum snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 35 cm (13+3⁄4 in). The dorsal scales are arranged in 26–30 rows around the body. There are more than 300 dorsal scales in the vertebral row.
The nostrils are located below the sharp horizontal cutting edge of the snout. The total length (including tail) is 35 to 50 times the diameter of the body. The tail is as broad as long, or broader than long, ending in a spine.
R. lalandei occurs throughout the eastern half of Southern Africa, as far south as Cape Town and with isolated populations in western parts such as Namibia. R. lalandei can be found in a variety of habitats including semidesert, savannah, coastal bush, and fynbos, at altitudes from sea level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft).
The species... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Delalande's Beaked Blind Snake sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 41 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Delalande's Beaked Blind Snake in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–September and December–April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Delalande's Beaked Blind Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 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 Delalande's Beaked Blind Snake sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Delalande's Beaked Blind Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Table Mountain National Park (19 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.
