Listing
Aug 1, 1977
Aug 1, 1977 Listing (Threatened)
Proposed Threatened Status for Eastern Indigo Snake; 42 FR 38921 38924 (Dyrmarchon corais couperi)
- Publication type: Proposed
Item 1
FWS Focus
Overview
Characteristics
Overview
The eastern indigo snake is a large, non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. Native to the southeastern United States, it is the longest native snake species in the country. The generic name, Drymarchon, translates to "lord of the forest."
Threats
Habitat fragmentation and loss due to land use changes, especially urbanization, including residential and commercial development, and road construction and expansion. Vehicle strikes, human persecution, invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species , and predation pose further threats, and sea level rise is also an increasing risk.
Scientific Name
Drymarchon couperi
Common Name
Eastern Indigo Snake
Blue Indigo Snake
Blue Bull Snake
FWS Category
Reptiles
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Characteristic category
Life Cycle
Characteristics
Life Span
Eastern indigo snakes may live for 8 to 12 years in the wild, become sexually mature around 3.5 years of age, and breed from October through January.
Reproduction
The eastern indigo snake lays eggs that are 3–4 inches long by 1 inch wide. Females will lay a single clutch of 4 to 14 eggs from late April through early June. Eastern indigo snakes usually do not reach maturity until they are 3 to 5 years old and around 5 to 6 feet in length. Females can retain live sperm for long periods, potentially over 4 years, and can choose when to release the sperm to fertilize the eggs. Mating season is at a peak from October through January.
Characteristic category
Habitat
Characteristics
Habitat
The eastern indigo snake lives in portions of Florida and southeastern Georgia in longleaf pine sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, tropical hardwood hammocks, and coastal dunes. Gopher tortoise burrows are important to these snakes' habitat for shelter.
Characteristic category
Food
Characteristics
Food
The eastern indigo snake eats a wide variety of prey, including turtles, lizards, frogs, toads, fish, small birds, mammals, and eggs. It consumes other snakes, including venomous ones, as it is immune to the venom of the North American rattlesnakes. While eastern indigo snakes depend on gopher tortoises for their burrows, they are also known to eat small tortoises.
Characteristic category
Behavior
Characteristics
Behavior
Eastern indigo snakes move seasonally between upland and lowland habitats, especially in the northern portions of their range. Throughout their range, eastern indigo snakes use below-ground shelter sites for refuge, breeding, feeding, and nesting. They depend on gopher tortoise burrows in xeric sandhill habitats throughout the northern part of the species’ range for overwintering shelter sites. Adults move long distances and have large home ranges; from several hundred to several thousand acres.
Characteristic category
Physical Characteristics
Characteristics
Size & Shape
Mature adult eastern indigo snakes weigh from 2 pounds to over 10 pounds. This is the longest species of snake native to the United States and reaches up to 8.6 feet. Eastern indigo snakes are moderately heavy-bodied and almost entirely iridescent bluish-black with the chin and sides of the head colored reddish, orange-brown, or cream.
Geography
Characteristics
Range
Eastern indigo snake populations occur in portions of Florida as well as southern areas of Georgia and Alabama. Historically, this snake was found throughout Florida and in the coastal plain of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Timeline
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