Drymarchon

Drymarchon
Drymarchon couperi, eastern indigo snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Drymarchon
Fitzinger, 1843
Species and subspecies

D. caudomaculatus
D. corais
D. couperi
D. melanurus
    D. m. erebennus

Synonyms

Coluber, Compsosoma, Georgia, Spilotes [1]

Drymarchon is a genus of large nonvenomous colubrid snakes, commonly known as indigo snakes, endemic to the Southeastern United States, Central America, and South America. Three to four species are currently recognized.[2]

Description

Indigo snakes are large, robust snakes which can reach a length of over 3 m (9.8 ft). They have smooth dorsal scales with several color variations, including a glossy blue-black color.

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 snakes, including rattlesnakes. They are not aggressive snakes and will only bite when threatened. Typical threat display includes hissing and shaking of its tail as a warning.

Species

The genus Drymarchon was formerly considered to be a monotypic taxon formed by subspecies of D. corais. Currently the genus includes three distinct species recognized by ITIS:[2]

A fourth species, found in Venezuela, has been proposed by Wüster, Yrausquin, and Mijares-Urrutia:[5][6]


References

  1. Wright, A.H., and A.A. Wright. 1957. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Comstock. Ithaca and London. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Drymarchon, p. 200.)
  2. 1 2 "Drymarchon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  3. Hammerson, G.A (2007). "Drymarchon couperi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  4. Lee, J., Calderón Mandujano, R., Lopez-Luna, M.A., Vasquez Díaz, J. & Quintero Díaz, G.E. (2007). "Drymarchon melanurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  5. Genus Drymarchon at The Reptile Database
  6. Wüster, Wolfgang; José Luís Yrausquin; Abraham Mijares-Urrutia (2001). "A new species of indigo snake from north-western Venezuela (Serpentes: Colubridae: Drymarchon)" (PDF). Herpetological Journal 11: 157–165.

Further reading

External links

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