Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone have an opinion on the systematics put forth for Drymarchon on the "Indigo Snake Systematics Page" with D caudomaculatus, corais, couperi & margaritae as species & D Melanurus containing erebennus, orizabensis,rubidus & unicolor as sub-speices.

Some of it makes sense. I've long thought that D.c.couperi and D.c.corais were at least physiologically different enough from the others in the genus that they may warrant full species status. I believe that the changes were proposed by Wolfgang Wuster. I have not read his proposal, nor seen the evidence that he presented to support the proposal, but I believe it is based heavily on DNA data, as well as physiological data, geography, and intergradation. There are head scalation differences in couperi that are consistent, meaning that they ar epresent in every couperi I've ever seen (3rd supralabial is cut off by the 2nd and 4th and does not contact oculars). D.c.corais is just simply unlike any other Drymarchon. To me it is much more like a gigantic racer or coachwhip in body build and temperament and reaches a considerably larger size that the others.

The ones that I wonder about are D.c.rubidusand D.c.erebennus. They both seem much more akin to D.c.couperi in many ways than they do to D.c.melanurus or D.c.unicolor, especially when you consider things like clutch size, egg size, etc. D.c.melanurus, D.c.erebennus, D.c.unicolor and D.c.rubidus do have some things in common physiologically, such as the black facial "flashes"...and they do intergrade.