About Trimorphodon vilkinsonii Cope, 1886
Trimorphodon vilkinsonii Cope, 1886, commonly called the Texas lyre snake, is a medium-sized snake. Adults reach an approximate total length of 1 meter, or 39 inches, including the tail. Its base coloration is brown, tan, or gray, with 17 to 24 dark brown blotches running down its back. It has large eyes with vertical pupils. The common name "lyre snake" comes from a distinctive V-shaped head pattern that resembles a lyre, but this species (previously recognized as the subspecies T. b. vilkinsonii) does not have this V-shaped mark on its head. Trimorphodon vilkinsonii occurs in the Big Bend region of Texas and southern New Mexico in the United States, and in northeastern Chihuahua in Mexico. Its preferred natural habitats are desert and rocky areas. Like other lyre snakes, it is oviparous, laying clutches of approximately twelve eggs.
