indigo snake

a large, deep-blue or brown harmless snake, Drymarchon corais, ranging from the southern U.S. to South America and invading burrows to prey on small mammals: the eastern subspecies D. corais couperi is now greatly reduced in number. Also called gopher snake.

[1880-85, Amer.]

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Nonvenomous snake (Drymarchon corais, family Colubridae) found from the southeastern U.S. to Brazil.

The largest snake in the U.S., it has a record length of 9.2 ft (2.8 m). In the U.S. it is blue-black; southward it may have brown foreparts, and in the tropics it is often called brown snake. It kills small vertebrates, including venomous snakes, by crushing with its jaws and the weight of its coils, but is not a constrictor. In defense it hisses and vibrates its tail but rarely strikes. It may share a burrow with a gopher tortoise, for which it is often called gopher snake. It has been listed as an endangered species since the 1970s.

Indigo snake (Drymarchon corais)

Leonard Lee Rue III

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▪ reptile

 (Drymarchon corais), docile, nonvenomous member of the family Colubridae found from the southeastern United States to Brazil. It is the largest snake in the United States—record length is 2.6 metres (8.5 feet)—and one of the largest of all colubrids. In the United States its colour is blue-black; southward it may have brown foreparts, and in the tropics members of the genus often are called brown snakes. It kills small vertebrate animals, including venomous snakes, by crushing with its jaws and the weight of its coils but is not a constrictor.

      In defense the indigo snake hisses and vibrates its tail but is loath to strike. It may share a burrow with a gopher tortoise (Gopherus) and is often called gopher snake. Since 1978 it has been listed under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species within the United States.

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