Cryptoblepharus australis
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Cryptoblepharus australis, commonly called the inland snake-eyed skink, is a species of skink in the genus Cryptoblepharus. Pronunciation: KRIP-toe-BLEFF-ah-russ / oss-TRAH-liss Cryptoblepharus: 'hidden eyelid', referring to the fused eyelids.
Australis: 'southern', or more generally referring to Australia A major and much-needed revision of the genus was undertaken in 2007 by Paul Horner of the Northern Territory Museum, previously splitting this species into a bunch of species each of which occupies quite a distinct range occurring over Australia.
C. australis usually has quite distinct features: 6 supraciliary scales, 24 mid-body scale rows; smooth sub digital lamellae; immaculate, acute plantar scales. They are greyish in colour and have a longitudinal aligned body pattern. Cryptoblepharus snaked-eyed skink species live on vertical surfaces of rocks, trees and buildings which are challenging... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Shiny-palmed Shining-skink sighting in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 25 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, June, August and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Shiny-palmed Shining-skink in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May, July, October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shiny-palmed Shining-skink sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, in our data
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Shiny-palmed Shining-skink sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Shiny-palmed Shining-skink that you can see in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (family Scincidae, Skinks) are Leonhardi's Ctenotus (about 20%), Massive-gibber Ctenotus (about 20%) and Leopard Ctenotus (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shiny-palmed Shining-skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (5 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.
