Drymarchon melanurus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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.
D. melanurus is a large species that can grow to a total length (including tail) of 1.80 m (6 ft) to over 2.40 m (8 ft). This species has predominantly olive-brown glossy dorsal scales evolving to black at the tail. The underside is a lighter olive-yellow, olive-tan color.
D. melanurus has distinctive dark markings round the eyes, a vertical dark slash just behind the jaw. and a heavy diagonal dark slash on both sides of the neck. The subspecies D. m. erebennus is predominantly solid black, though there can be lighter shaded variations.
The geographic range of D. melanurus extends from southern Texas southwards through the Gulf Coast of Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala and Belize. On the Pacific coast... Wikipedia →
Recording0:34
Ecuador · 2025
© bionatedu · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Virginia Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Croco Cun Zoo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Texas Sealife Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Cali Zoo | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 11 | Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 12 | Snakeroom Serpentarium | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Zoológico Miguél Álvarez del Toro | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Central American Indigo Snake sighting in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 43 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March, May–June and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Central American Indigo Snake in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, July–August and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Central American Indigo Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Central American Indigo Snake sightings, Cumbres de Monterrey National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Central American Indigo Snake that you can see in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Northern Cat-eyed Snake (about 10%), Baird's Ratsnake (about 10%) and Great Plains Ratsnake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Central American Indigo Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
