Polemon (snake)
- "Miodon" redirects here. The mollusc genus of family Carditidae invalidly described by Carpenter in 1863 has been renamed Miodontiscus.
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| Genus: | Polemon Jan, 1858
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Miodon Duméril, 1859 | |
Polemon is a genus of rear-fanged venomous snakes endemic to Africa. Thirteen species are recognized.[1][2]
The common name of this genus is snake-eaters, for their habit of feeding mainly on smaller snakes.
Description
The maxillary is very short, with three small teeth, followed, after an interspace, by a very large, grooved fang situated anterior to the eye. The third and fourth mandibular teeth are large and fang-like. The head is small, and not distinct from neck. The eyes are minute, with round pupils. The nostrils are in a divided nasal which does not touch the rostral, the internasal forms a suture with the first upper labial. No loreal is present. The parietal is narrowly in contact with an upper labial.
This snake's body is cylindrical, with a very short tail. Dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, and are arranged in 15 rows. The ventrals are rounded; the subcaudals are single (entire),[3] or double (divided).
Species
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Polemon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ a b c Polemon at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 May 2009.
- ^ Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), Amblycephalidæ, and Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (Genus Polemon, p. 253).