NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Blacktail Cribo
Drymarchon melanurus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Middle American indigo snake (Drymarchon melanurus), also known commonly as the blacktail cribo, is a species of large, nonvenomous, snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. In addition to the nominate subspecies, it has four other recognized subspecies, including D. m. erebennus, commonly known as the Texas indigo snake.
Wikipedia contributors, Middle American indigo snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:47:16.663454+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Drymarchon melanurus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
- Common name
- Blacktail Cribo
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Drymarchon
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyColubrinae
- genusDrymarchon
- speciesDrymarchon melanurus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Drymarchon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Drymarchon caudomaculatus Wüster, Yrausquin & Mijares-Urrutia, 2001 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indigo SnakeDrymarchon corais (Boie, 1827) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Spilotes erebennus Cope, 1861 Cope, 1861 | synonym |
| Spilotes melanurus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | synonym |
| Drymarchon corais rubidus Smith, 1941 Smith, 1941 | synonym |
| Morenoa orizabensis Dugès, 1905 Dugès, 1905 | synonym |
| Drymarchon corais melanocercus Smith, 1941 Smith, 1941 | synonym |
| Drymarchon corais unicolor Smith, 1941 Smith, 1941 | synonym |
| Drymarchon corais cleofae Brock, 1942 Brock, 1942 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Duméril, A.M.C., G. BIBRON & A.H.A. DUMÉRIL. (1854). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, Xvi + 780 S. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6DLFR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.