A slimly built, "cat-eyed" snake; broad head bears a chevron- or lyre-shaped mark. Light brown to gray with darker brown or gray saddle-shaped blotches with light centers on back; smaller dark blotches on sides and belly scales. Scales smooth, in 21-27 rows. Anal plate single or divided. The Western Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon biscutatus) is a mildly venomous colubrid snake native to the western United States, northern Mexico, and Central America.
Ten Facts about Western Lyre Snake
- They are a moderately sized snake, attaining lengths of approximately 1 meter at adult size.
- Rocky hillsides, slides and canyons, boulder-strewn mountain slopes; arid rocky coastal areas; desert to evergreen forest; sea level to 7,400' (2,250 m).
- Western lyre snakes are found in the United States from the western Texas, across the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona to California, and north into southern Nevada.
- A California female laid 12 eggs in September, which hatched in 79 days.
- Diet includes, mice, snakes eggs, birds, frogs, insects.
- Predators include, foxes, hawks, snakes, dogs, wild cats, birds.
- Lyre snakes lay eggs. One clutch was laid in the lab in September and required 79 days to incubate.
- The venom is hemolytic, attacking the red blood cells of the prey, reducing its ability to take oxygen to tissues.
- They rarely bites humans.
- They live maximum 10-15 years.
