Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have heard: "Cry-bow" and "Crib-oh", and a guy who owns a petstore here even called them "Cree-bow"! So what is the most accepted?

And is it considered bad form to call cribos "yellow indigos"?

Also while we are at it, is it "Dry-Mark-On" or "Dry-March-On"??

Please excuse my ignorance.

THANKS!!!

>>I have heard: "Cry-bow" and "Crib-oh", and a guy who owns a petstore here even called them "Cree-bow"! So what is the most accepted?
>>
>>And is it considered bad form to call cribos "yellow indigos"?
>>
>>Also while we are at it, is it "Dry-Mark-On" or "Dry-March-On"??
>>
>>Please excuse my ignorance.
>>
>>THANKS!!!

The normal pronunciation of Cribo is "KREE-bow". The normal pronunciation of Drymarchon is "dry-MARK-on". I haven't heard anyone call Cribos "Yellow Indigos". They aren't all yellow...in fact, most of them aren't except for Yellowtails. A lot of people do call them "Central American Indigos", "South American Indigos" and I've heard "Southern Indigos".
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The name cribo is also used for other snakes like clelia and spilotes and dialectically, is pronounce in several ways. The spelling "CRIBO" is OUR way of phrasing the word's sound from a given area, not the other way round.

I have seen it spelled "Creabo" once before as well. I'm guessing this is a Spanish word? Wonder what it means? Anywho, thanks for the comments...

>>The name cribo is also used for other snakes like clelia and spilotes and dialectically, is pronounce in several ways. The spelling "CRIBO" is OUR way of phrasing the word's sound from a given area, not the other way round.

That's true, but in the U.S. Clelia ssp. goes by the common name "Mussurana", and Spilotes pulatus goes by the common name "Tiger Rat Snake". The common name Cribo (or any of it's variants) is used to describe Drymarchon ssp. found south of the U.S./Mexico border except, of course, for D.c.erebennus which is also found in northern Mexico. When we are speaking of the animals in question, it is impractical to go through all of the possible colloquial spellings and pronunciations in order to make sure that you have covered every use of "Cribo" or "Creabo" for every dialect that may use the word for something.

If we were in one of those countries south of the border, then it would be necessary to find out what common names are in use in that area. Since we are in the U.S. and I've never heard anyone in the U.S. call a Mussurana or Tiger Rat Snake a Cribo, then I think it's relatively safe to assume that if you hear the word Cribo being used to describe a snake, the speaker is referrring to some species or subspecies of Drymarchon.

The question was not about the origin of the word or the uses and variants of the word in other countries, but the normal pronunciation of that particular variant (assuming the speaker is in the U.S.). But, that's the problem with common names. You are forced to make some assumptions. A "Chicken Snake" can be a lot of different things depending upon where it is found. It can be a member of the genus Pantherophis (Gen. nov.) formerly Elaphe in the U.S., or it can be Spilotes pulatus in Central American countries...and presumably other things in other areas. The use of "scientific" names eliminates this confusion, even if you only use the species name or the trinomial for the subspecies. For instance, if the subject of conversation is generally about Drymarchon and someone mentions erebennus then there is no question of what the speaker is referring to.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

That is the problem with "common" names. However...my Latin friends all pronounce it Kree-bow, so that is what I use.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

>>That is the problem with "common" names. However...my Latin friends all pronounce it Kree-bow, so that is what I use.
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>>Frank
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>>"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Yep, following the Spanish pronunciation rules, that would be the pronunciation with the spelling of "Cribo".
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

the word 'cribo' is of portuguese origin and loosely translated means 'chicken eater'. locals will use this tag w/ several genera and aptly so........to snakes, it's like going to KFC.....;>]

And this Portugese word has been bastardized into a Spanish pronounciation. So who is right? The Portugese pronounciation or the Spanish? After all, in Portugal, Trinidad and S. America, cribo IS used for various species, and these people also reside HERE in the US and call these animals by their commonly known name with their particular syntax. Are the Spanish residents in America's pronounciation more correct than the originals?
The origin of "gopher" is African and was pronounced "gofa". Should this be changed since the African Americans coined the name? What about Alligator?
When I was collecting Thamnophis in Mexico, the Mexican Herpetologist we HAD to bring along pronounced the latin "scientific" names with his particular dialectic pronounciation. I do not know if he learned this from other Mexican herpetologists or he came up with the verbage himself. Needless to say, it didn't make any sence at all until he WROTE the word so it could be read.
I know there is a set way of pronouncing Latin. Let's not get to picky with the common, shall we? ( Kree-bow is correct though!)

Well, since we communicate mostly via written word on here, I think the way we do it works out nicely. The spelling "Cribo" gets the point across and most times we use the latin trinomial anyway. If someone writes "melanurus" in this forum, I know exactly what they are referring to. If they say "Yellowtail", I still know..or even "uni". That's the point anyway...as long as everyone understands what you are saying, it doesn't matter.

I've heard a number of Herpetologists use a number of different pronunciations for the same latin name, too. One Herp Veterinarian that I work with is originally from Central America, and some of his pronunciations are very different from what I'm accustomed to hearing. Most times I know what they are talking about, but there have been times that I have had to get clarification via a spelling or some other description. Yes, there are rules for the pronunciation of scientific names, but there are a couple of variations. The Europeans (Germanic speakers) use a different variation from the English-speaking people. If everyone would use a "standard" pronunciation, it would eliminate that problem, then you would only be dealing with differences in accents. But...they don't. Nothing's perfect.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

uh, philfrank.....did i say anything about pronounciation? i think not. i just pointed out a relevant, accurate fact as pertains to this thread. take a pill already and calm down dude........

So far as working within Central and So. America, or any foreign country for that matter, I have found that photographs of the species sought are far more beneficial then relying on either common or scientific names, as most local villages tend to maintain their own dialect regarding the names of local flora and fauna.
Philfrank, I would be interested in knowing who the Mexican herpetologist you worked with was, as I have invested quite a bit of time down there myself, and perhaps we have worked with the same people.

Jeff

N/P