Category: Trimorphodon

Sonoran Lyresnake in Yavapai County, Arizona

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

We found this Sonoran Lyresnake on the move on a night hike in Yavapai County sevearl years back. This one is typical of the species for the area, with chaotic brown and tan blotches over a beige body, with a relatively disoganized look compared to some of the more cleanly banded version found elsewhere. They’re slightly venomous, feeding on lizards, rodents, and bats. It’s not harmful to humans, but I still avoid a bite like I would from any snake.

Devitt, T. J. (2006). Phylogeography of the Western Lyresnake (Trimorphodon biscutatus): Testing aridland biogeographical hypotheses across the Nearctic–Neotropical transition. Molecular Ecology, 15, 4387–4407. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03015.x

Mackessy, S. P., & Saviola, A. J. (2016). Understanding biological roles of venoms among the Caenophidia: The importance of rear-fanged snakes. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 56(5), 1004–1012. https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/56/5/1004/2420638

Central American Lyresnake in Costa Rica

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A morning flight out of Costa Rica gave me one extra evening near the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica, to end a family vacation. I went into the coastal thornscrub to see what there was to see, and found a few of these large Central American Lyresnakes. They seem thicker and less likely to bite than the thin, bug-eyed lyresnakes here in the United States. Handling them seems a bit more like it’s a gophersnake or ratsnake in comparison. Unlike those snakes, however … these do have a relatively mild venom, that I would not like to test from one of these big snakes.

Sonoran Lyresnake

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A Sonoran Lyresnake seen late at night on a hike in a remote mountain range in extreme southwestern Arizona. These cryptic, nocturnal snakes live in rocky areas, where they take a variety of prey using venom. But, unless you’re a lizard, you have nothing to fear from this snake … if you ever even see one.