Taxonomy
The eastern indigo snake was first described by John Edwards Holbrook in 1842. The species was considered monotypic with 12 subspecies until the early 1990s when it was elevated to full species status according to the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, in their official names list.
The Latin name for the genus Drymarchon roughly translates to “Lord of the Forest”. It is composed of the Greek words Drymos (Δρυμός), meaning "forest", and Archon (ἄρχων), meaning "lord" or "ruler". The specific name is a Latinization of James Couper's surname. Couper brought Holbrook the first specimen from south of the Altamaha River in Wayne County, Georgia.
Read more about this topic: Eastern Indigo Snake