Sub-Adult, 5,371′, Puebla, Mexico
BLACK-HEADED LYRE SNAKE
Trimorphodon tau – Cope 1870
Trimorphodon tau latifasciata – Peters 1869
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
HABITAT:
Habitat, 5,000′, Puebla, Mexico
Capture Site of Pictured Animal, 5,371′, Puebla, Mexico
Microhabitat, 5,000′, Puebla, Mexico
Habitat, Northern Oaxaca, Mexico
Habitat, Northern Oaxaca, Mexico
NATURAL HISTORY:
TAXONOMY:
TYPE:
PERSONAL NOTES:
I have found this snake only twice to date. Both were found in July, 2005 during the summer rainy season; one DOR from near Santa Maria Tecomavaca, on Hwy 135 in extreme northern Oaxaca and the above-pictured AOR near Zapotitlan Salinas, Puebla. In four nights of road cruising the Zapotitlan Salinas area this was the only live snake encountered. I blame the lack of snake activity on the low nighttime temperatures of this high-elevation desert basin. It was found at 9:45 PM at an elevation of 5,371′.
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