Scelotes gronovii
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Gronovi's dwarf burrowing skink (Scelotes gronovii) is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to South Africa. Both the specific name, gronovii, and the common name are in honour of Dutch naturalist Laurens Theodorus Gronovius.
S. gronovii has no front legs, and each back leg has only one toe. The snout-to-vent length (SVL) of adults is usually 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in), and the maximum recorded SVL is 7 cm (2.8 in). The preferred natural habitat of S. gronovii is sparse sandy shrubland in the southwestern coastal margins of the Western Cape (including Dassen Island), at altitudes below 100 m (330 ft).
S. gronovii is terrestrial and fossorial. S. gronovii is ovoviviparous. A litter consists of one or two newborns, each of which has a total length (including tail) of 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in). Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Scelotes gronovii, p. 142 + Plate 47).
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 23 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.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, June–July and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only West Coast National Park, in our data
West Coast National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Scincidae
The closest relatives of the Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink that you can see in West Coast National Park (family Scincidae, Skinks) are Cape Skink (about 30%), Variegated Skink (about 20%) and Red-sided Skink (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gronovi's Dwarf Burrowing Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in West Coast National Park (8 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.
