Polemon ater
Appearance
Polemon ater | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Atractaspididae |
Genus: | Polemon |
Species: | P. ater
|
Binomial name | |
Polemon ater |
Polemon ater, also known as the black snake-eater, is a species of rear-fanged venomous snake in the subfamily Aparallactinae. It is known with certainty from the southeastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), but is likely also found in adjacent Tanzania and Zambia based on literary records. It was grouped under Polemon christyi until genetic analyses indicated that it was a distinct species. It is the first species in the genus Polemon to be described in over 70 years.[1]
References
- ^ a b Portillo, Frank; Branch, William R.; Tilbury, Colin R.; Nagy, Zoltán T.; Hughes, Daniel F.; Kusamba, Chifundera; Muninga, Wandege M.; Aristote, Mwenebatu M.; Behangana, Mathias & Greenbaum, Eli (2019). "A cryptic new species of Polemon (Squamata: Lamprophiidae, Aparallactinae) from the miombo woodlands of Central and East Africa". Copeia. 107 (1): 22–35. doi:10.1643/CH-18-098.