THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Colubridae  

Eastern Indigo Snake
Drymarchon couperi (Holbrook, 1842)

Current SSAR Comments:
Krysko et al. (2016, Zootaxa 4138: 549–569) described a new taxon, D. kolpobasileus, based on morphological differences of the skull and mtDNA sequence data from D. couperi. Guyer et al. (2019, Zootaxa 4695: 168–174) were unable to confirm head-shape differences between D. kolpobasileus and D. couperi, and Folt et al. (2019, PLoS One 14: e0214439) examined lineage structure using nDNA and found it failed to support conclusions from mtDNA alone. Both the Guyer and Folt studies recommend against recognition of D. kolpobasileus.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.20.40.09)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.3 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Couper's Snake (Spilotes couperi: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Georgia Snake (Spilotes erebennus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Indido Snake (Spilotes corais couperii: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Indigo Snake (Spilotes corais couperi: Brown, Arthur, E. 1902. Report of the Board of Directors. Pages 5-22 in Thirtieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Allen, Lane, and Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp.); Gopher-snake (Drymarchon corais couperi: Stejneger, Leonard and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Indigo-snake (Drymarchon corais couperi: Stejneger, Leonard and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couper: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couperi: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1842 Holbrook, John E. North American Herpetology; or Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Second Edition. Volume 3. J. Dobson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 128pp.
2016 Krysko, Kenneth L., Michael C. Granatosky, Leroy P. Nunez, and Daniel J. Smith. A cryptic new species of Indigo Snake (genus Drymarchon) from the Florida Platform of the United States. Zootaxa 4138(3):549-569
2019 Folt, Brian, Javan Bauder, Stephen Spear, Dirk Stevenson, Michelle Hoffman, Jamie R. Oaks, Perry L. Wood, Jr., Christopher Jenkins, David A. Steen, and Craig Guyer. Taxonomic and conservation implications of population genetic admixture, mito-nuclear discordance, and male-biased dispersal of a large endangered snake, Drymarchon couperi. PLoS One 14(3):e0214439
2019 Guyer, Craig, Brian Folt, Brian Folt, Michelle Hoffman, Dirk Stevenson, Scott M. Goetz, Melissa A. Miller, and James C. Godwin. Patterns of head shape and scutellation in Drymarchon couperi (Squamata: Colubridae) reveal a single species. Zootaxa 4695(2):168–174

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:37 CT