''Trimorphodon'' is a genus of mildly venomous,

rear-fanged A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than i ...

, colubrid snakes. They are commonly known as lyre snakes, named after the distinctive V shaped pattern on their head that is said to resemble the shape of a

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

. In Mexico, they are commonly called "víbora de uña," or "nail viper."SOS SIERRA LOS HUICHOLES, JALISCO
Under "Listado de Fauna" The word ''Trimorphodon'' is a combination of three Greek words, 'tri' - three, 'morph' - shape, and 'odon' - teeth, which refers to the three distinct kinds of teeth that lyre snakes have: recurved

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

teeth; shorter middle teeth, and large grooved fangs at the rear of the jaw. There are two distinct species in the genus ''Trimorphodon'', with seven

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Range

''Trimorphodon biscutatus'' ranges throughout the southwestern United States, from Texas to California as well as into northern Mexico. ''Trimorphodon tau'' ranges through most of Mexico, and down into Central America, in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, Nicaragua, and as far south as

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. They are primarily found in rocky crevices and outcroppings.

Description

Lyre snakes usually grow to about 1m at adult size. They have a broad head with a narrow neck and large

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

s with vertical pupils. They are tan or brown in color, with distinctive black or dark brown bands that have lighter colored borders.

Behavior

''Trimorphodon'' species are primarily

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, and feed on

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, rodents and even bats. They are a very secretive species, and excellent climbers. They live inside rock crevices and canyon walls where humans cannot easily find them, which makes research difficult.

Reproduction

They are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

, laying clutches of 10 or more

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

Hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

between species is not unknown in the areas where their range overlaps.

Speed

There is no information on this category.

Venom

Their venom is not considered to be dangerous to humans.

Species

*Western lyre snake, ''

Trimorphodon biscutatus The western lyre snake (''Trimorphodon biscutatus'') is a mildly venomous colubrid snake native to Mexico and Guatemala. Description They are a moderately sized snake, attaining lengths of approximately 1 meter at adult size. They are generall ...

'' ( Duméril,

Bibron Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hir ...

& Duméril, 1854) *Sonoran lyre snake, '' Trimorphodon lambda'' ( Cope, 1886) *Baja California lyre snake, ''

Trimorphodon lyrophanes ''Trimorphodon lyrophanes'', the Baja California lyre snake, is a species of snake of the family Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake ...

'' ( Cope, 1860) *Sinaloan lyre snake, '' Trimorphodon paucimaculatus'' Taylor, 1938 *'' Trimorphodon quadruplex'' ( Smith, 1941) *Mexican lyre snake, ''

Trimorphodon tau ''Trimorphodon tau'', the Mexican lyre snake, is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. The snake is found in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North Ame ...

'' **'' Trimorphodon tau latifascia'' ( Peters, 1869) **'' Trimorphodon tau tau'' ( Cope, 1870) *Texas lyre snake, ''

Trimorphodon vilkinsonii The Texas lyre snake (''Trimorphodon vilkinsonii'') is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico. Etymology The epithet ''vilk ...

'' ( Cope, 1886)

References

*
CaliforniaHerps.com Trimorphodon biscutatus lyrophanes - Baja California Lyresnake
{{Taxonbar, from=Q740763 Colubrids Snakes of North America Vertebrates of Mexico Snakes of Central America Snake genera Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope