Psammophiidae (Sand Snakes)

Species in this group

Endemic

Mimophis occultus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

LC

Hemirhagerrhis nototaenia

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

LC

Psammophylax rhombeatus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

LC

Malpolon monspessulanus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Psammophis leightoni

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Psammophis subtaeniatus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Psammophis crucifer

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Psammophis notostictus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Dipsina multimaculata

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Psammophis mossambicus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Psammophylax tritaeniatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Rhamphiophis rostratus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

See all 12 species Show fewer

Daily sighting probability by month

Probability-weighted average across the group's species

~10%

Jan

~10%

Feb

~10%

Mar

~10%

Apr

~10%

May

~10%

Jun

~20%

Jul

~10%

Aug

~10%

Sep

~20%

Oct

~20%

Nov

~20%

Dec

When they're spotted

When the group's species are recorded (aggregated)

Where to see Sand Snakes

Warmer areas are where this group is recorded most often. Shaded: the known ranges of its 49 species, darker where more of them overlap (GARD, Roll et al. 2017 & Caetano et al. 2022). Our parks Our cities In captivity: 3 zoos & centres

Parks Ranked

#	Park	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	West Coast National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	4 of 12	~60%
	Rhombic Skaapsteker			~30%
	Cape Sand Snake			~20%
	Karoo Sand Snake			~10%
	Cross-marked Grass Snake			~10%
2	Ankarafantsika National Park	🇲🇬 Madagascar	1 of 12	~50%
	Northern Pencil Snake			~50%
3	De Hoop Nature Reserve	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 12	~40%
	Rhombic Skaapsteker			~20%
	Cross-marked Grass Snake			~20%
4	Kruger National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	5 of 12	~40%
	Stripe-bellied Sand Snake			~20%
	Olive Whip Snake			~10%
	Eastern Bark Snake			~10%
	Three-lined Grass Snake			~10%
	Rufous Beaked Snake			<5%
5	South Luangwa National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	1 of 12	~30%
	Eastern Bark Snake			~30%
6	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	2 of 12	~30%
	Cape Sand Snake			~20%
	Dwarf Beaked Snake			~10%
7	Cévennes National Park	🇫🇷 France	1 of 12	~20%
	Montpellier Snake			~20%
8	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 12	~20%
	Rhombic Skaapsteker			~10%
	Cross-marked Grass Snake			~10%
	Karoo Sand Snake			<5%
9	uMkhuze Game Reserve	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 12	~20%
	Stripe-bellied Sand Snake			~20%
10	Sierra Nevada National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 12	~20%
	Montpellier Snake			~20%
11	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 12	~10%
	Rhombic Skaapsteker			~10%
	Cross-marked Grass Snake			~10%
12	Doñana National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
13	Etosha National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	1 of 12	~10%
	Olive Whip Snake			~10%
14	Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 12	~10%
	Cape Sand Snake			~10%
15	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 12	~10%
	Olive Whip Snake			~10%
16	Sierra de Guadarrama National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
17	Pyrénées National Park	🇫🇷 France	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
18	Addo Elephant National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 12	~10%
	Karoo Sand Snake			~10%

Cities Ranked

#	City	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Cape Town	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 12	~20%
	Cross-marked Grass Snake			~10%
	Rhombic Skaapsteker			~10%
	Karoo Sand Snake			<5%
2	Valencia	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
3	Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
4	Porto	🇵🇹 Portugal	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
5	Lisbon	🇵🇹 Portugal	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%
6	Madrid	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 12	~10%
	Montpellier Snake			~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Moscow Zoo	🇷🇺 Russia	In captivity
2	Alpenzoo Innsbruck	🇦🇹 Austria	In captivity
3	Riverbend Crocodile Farm	🇿🇦 South Africa	In captivity

Sand Snakes

Species in this group

Northern Pencil Snake

Eastern Bark Snake

Rhombic Skaapsteker

Montpellier Snake

Cape Sand Snake

Stripe-bellied Sand Snake

Cross-marked Grass Snake

Karoo Sand Snake

Dwarf Beaked Snake

Olive Whip Snake

Three-lined Grass Snake

Rufous Beaked Snake

Daily sighting probability by month

When they're spotted

Where to see Sand Snakes

Parks Ranked

Cities Ranked

Zoos & Centres Where Found