Indigo Snake
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| Indigo snakes Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||
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| Missing image Dcouperi.jpg Eastern Indigo Snake Eastern indigo snake | ||||||||||||
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Drymarchon caudomaculatus |
The eastern Indigo snake is the longest non-venomous snake in North America, with the longest recorded specimen measuring 9.2 feet (2.8m) long, but it is not the longest of its genus. The Yellowtail cribo, also of the genus Drymarchon, has been known to reach 10 feet (3.05m) in length, but it is located in Central and South America and is dwarfed by the anaconda, the largest snake in the Americas.
It is omnivorous and will eat any other small animal it can overpower. Its diet has been known to include other venomous snakes, as it is immune to the venom of all known North American snakes. It often will cohabit with a Gopher Tortoise in its underground burrow, although it will settle for armadillo holes, hollow logs, and debris piles when Gopher Tortoise burrows can't be found. Hunters, looking for rattlesnakes, will often accidentally kill the Indigo snake when they pour gasoline into Gopher Tortoise burrows. Due to its docile nature and beautiful appearance, it is a popular pet, although its protected status makes owning one illegal without a permit. Because of overzealous collection and the destruction of its and the Gopher Tortoise's habitat, it is an endangered species.
Species in this genus include:
- Newly discovered species Drymarchon caudomaculatus
- Yellowtail cribo Drymarchon corais corais
- Eastern Indigo snake Drymarchon corais couperi or Drymarchon couperi
- Texas Indigo snake Drymarchon corais erebunnus
- Margarita Island cribo Drymarchon corais margaritae
- Blacktail cribo Drymarchon corais melanurus
- Mexican Redtail cribo Drymarchon corais rubidius
- Unicolor cribo Drymarchon corais unicolor