{{Short description|Genus of snakes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = EasternIndigo2010.jpg | image_caption =''Drymarchon couperi'', eastern indigo snake | taxon = Drymarchon | authority = [[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger]], 1843<ref name=fitzringer1843>[[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger L]] (1843). ''Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae''. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (''Drymarchon'', new genus, p. 26). (in Latin).</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | synonyms_ref = <ref name="McCranie (1980)">McCranie, James R. 1980. ''[https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/45186/0267%20Drymarchon%20D%20corais.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Drymarchon, D. corais.]'' Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 267: 1-4.</ref> | synonyms = * ''Georgia'' {{small| Baird and Girard, 1853}} * ''Geoptyas'' {{small| Steindachner, 1867}} * ''Morenoa'' {{small| Duges, 1905}} }}
'''''Drymarchon''''' is a [[genus]] of large, nonvenomous, [[Colubridae|colubrid]] [[snake]]s, commonly known as '''indigo snakes''' or '''cribos''',<ref name="mherps">{{cite web |title=Cribos and Indigo Snakes |url=http://madisonherps.org/guwp/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Cribos.pdf |website=madisonherps.org |access-date=2018-10-21 |archive-date=2018-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022073508/http://madisonherps.org/guwp/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Cribos.pdf }}</ref> found in the [[Southeastern United States]], [[Mexico]], [[Central America]], and South America.
==Description== Indigo snakes are large, robust snakes. They have smooth [[dorsal scales]], and several color variations, including a glossy blue-black color. The snake's [[genus|generic]] name ''Drymarchon'' means "lord of the forest". The species in this genus are sexually dimorphic, with the males being larger than the females. This is thought to be due to intraspecies competition from the males.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=Dirk J. |last2=Dyer |first2=Karen J. |last3=Willis-Stevenson |first3=Beth A. |date=2003 |title=Survey and Monitoring of the Eastern Indigo Snake in Georgia |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=393–408 |doi=10.1656/1528-7092(2003)002[0393:SAMOTE]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=3878009 |s2cid=86306664 |issn=1528-7092}}</ref>
==Behavior and diet== Indigo snakes are diurnal and actively forage for prey. They feed on a broad variety of small animals such as [[rodents]], [[birds]], [[lizards]], [[frogs]], [[toads]], and other [[ophiophagy|snakes]], including [[rattlesnakes]]. Indigo snakes also eat small gopher tortoises when they are available.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=Dirk J. |last2=Bolt |first2=M. Rebecca |last3=Smith |first3=Daniel J. |last4=Enge |first4=Kevin M. |last5=Hyslop |first5=Natalie L. |last6=Norton |first6=Terry M. |last7=Dyer |first7=Karen J. |date=March 2010 |title=Prey Records for the Eastern Indigo Snake ( Drymarchon couperi ) |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1656/058.009.0101 |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1656/058.009.0101 |issn=1528-7092|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They are not aggressive snakes and bite only when threatened. Its typical threat display includes hissing and shaking of its tail as a warning.
== Habitat == The current distribution of ''D. couperi'' is reported as extending from the coastal plain of southern Georgia to peninsular Florida and the lower Florida Keys west to Southeastern Mississippi. The species uses a variety of different habitats, including longleaf pine-turkey oak sandhills, pine and scrub flatwoods, dry prairie, tropical hardwoods, freshwater wetlands, and coastal dunes; however, winter survival, especially in northern portions of its range, depends on the availability of appropriate shelters, which are primarily gopher tortoise burrows.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hyslop |first1=N.L |title=Movements, habitat use, and survival of the threatened eastern indigo snake (''Drymarchon couperi'') in Georgia |journal=Diss. |date=2007 |volume=University of Georgia |page=12}}</ref> These burrows can be used to hide from predators, fires, and extreme temperatures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=HYSLOP |first1=NATALIE L. |last2=MEYERS |first2=J. MICHAEL |last3=COOPER |first3=ROBERT J. |last4=STEVENSON |first4=DIRK J. |date=2014 |title=Effects of Body Size and Sex of "Drymarchon couperi" (Eastern Indigo Snake) on Habitat Use, Movements, and Home Range Size in Georgia |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=78 |issue=1 |pages=101–111 |doi=10.1002/jwmg.645 |jstor=43188431 |bibcode=2014JWMan..78..101H |issn=0022-541X}}</ref>
== Threats == Populations in Alabama, Texas, and South Carolina have been largely lost due to [[habitat destruction]], [[poaching]], and killings. Indigo snakes are currently protected under the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which makes possession, harming, or harassing them illegal. Permits are also required to keep or transport this species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=Dirk J. |last2=Dyer |first2=Karen J. |last3=Willis-Stevenson |first3=Beth A. |date=2003 |title=Survey and Monitoring of the Eastern Indigo Snake in Georgia |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=393–408 |doi=10.1656/1528-7092(2003)002[0393:SAMOTE]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=3878009 |s2cid=86306664 |issn=1528-7092}}</ref>
==Species and subspecies== [[File:Drymarchon corais erebennus.jpg|right|thumb|220px|''[[Drymarchon melanurus erebennus]]'']] The genus ''Drymarchon'' was formerly considered to be a [[monotypic taxon]] formed by [[subspecies]] of ''D. corais''. Currently, the genus includes six distinct species recognized by [[ITIS]]:<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|id=174223|taxon=''Drymarchon ''|accessdate=2011-02-06}}</ref> One of the species has several subspecies that are recognized as being valid. *[[Falcon indigo snake]] — ''Drymarchon caudomaculatus'' {{small|[[Wolfgang Wüster|Wüster]], [[José Luís Yrausquin|Yrausquin]] & [[:fr:Abraham Mijares-Urrutia|Mijares-Urrutia]], 2001}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wüster|first1=Wolfgang|author-link=Wolfgang Wüster|first2=José Luís|last2=Yrausquin|first3=Abraham|last3=Mijares-Urrutia|author-link3=:fr:Abraham Mijares-Urrutia|title=A new species of indigo snake from north-western Venezuela (Serpentes: Colubridae: ''Drymarchon'')|journal=Herpetological Journal|volume=11|pages=157–165|year=2001|url=http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/Publications/Drymarchon.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205144435/http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/Publications/Drymarchon.pdf|archive-date=2007-02-05}} (''Drymarchon caudomaculatus'', new species).</ref> *[[Indigo snake (species)|Indigo snake]] — ''Drymarchon corais'' {{small|([[Friedrich Boie|F. Boie]], 1827)}} *[[Drymarchon couperi|Eastern indigo snake]] — ''Drymarchon couperi'' {{small|([[John Edwards Holbrook|Holbrook]], 1842)}}<ref>{{Cite iucn|author=Hammerson GA|title=''Drymarchon couperi ''|volume=2007|article-number=e.T63773A12714602|date=2007|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63773A12714602.en}}</ref> *Gulf Coast indigo snake — ''Drymarchon kolpobasileus'' {{Small|[[Kenney Krysko|Krysko]], Granatosky, Nuñez & D. J. Smith, 2016}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krysko |first1=Kenneth L. |last2=Granatosky |first2=Michael C. |last3=Nuñez |first3=Leroy P. |last4=Smith |first4=Daniel J. |date=2016-07-18 |title=A cryptic new species of Indigo Snake (genus Drymarchon) from the Florida Platform of the United States |journal=Zootaxa |volume=4138 |issue=3 |pages=549–569 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4138.3.9 |issn=1175-5334 |pmid=27470779 |url=http://publication.plazi.org/id/F56EA42DFFC91546163E0471FFF11277 }}</ref> *[[Margarita indigo snake]] — ''Drymarchon margaritae'' {{small|[[Janis Roze|Roze]], 1959}} *[[Middle American indigo snake]] — ''Drymarchon melanurus'' {{small|([[André Marie Constant Duméril|A.M.C. Duméril]], [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]] & [[Auguste Duméril|A.H.A. Duméril]], 1854)}} **Black-tailed cribo — ''D. m. melanurus'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)}} **[[Texas indigo snake]] — ''D. m. erebennus'' {{small|([[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1860)}}<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P. |author2=Rivas, G. |date=2017 |title=''Drymarchon melanurus'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T63774A3129309 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T63774A3129309.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> **Orizaba indigo snake — ''D. m. orizabensis'' {{small|([[Alfredo Dugès|Dugès]], 1905)}} **Mexican red-tailed indigo snake — ''D. m. rubidus'' {{small|[[Hobart Muir Smith|H.M. Smith]], 1941}} **Unicolor cribo — ''D. m. unicolor'' {{small|H.M. Smith, 1941}}
''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] or a [[Trinomen|trinomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Drymarchon''.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050307073542/http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/Taxa/Drymar.htm The Indigo Snake Systematics Page: A New Species of Indigo Snake (''Drymarchon'') from Venezuela, and a Reclassification of the Genus]. *[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw251 "Black Snakes": Identification and Ecology] - University of Florida fact sheet.
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[[Category:Drymarchon]] [[Category:Reptiles of the United States]] [[Category:Reptiles of Central America]] [[Category:Reptiles of South America]] [[Category:Snake genera]] [[Category:Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger]] [[Category:Apex predators]]