Subphylum Vertebrata | Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Suborder Serpentes | |
Polemon barthii, or the Guinea snake-eater, is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the Atractaspididae family. It is endemic to Africa.
Contents
Etymology
The specific name, barthii, is in honor of German explorer Heinrich Barth.
Geographic range
It is found in Cameroon, Guinea, and Ivory Coast.
Description
Dorsally, Polemon barthii is olive-gray, the dorsal scales edged with black. The back of the head is yellowish white. Ventrally it is yellowish white.
Adults may attain a total length of 81 cm (31 7⁄8 in), with a tail 4 cm (1 1⁄2 in) long.
Dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 15 rows at midbody. Ventrals 221-226; anal plate entire; subcaudals 16-18, also entire.
Diameter of eye ⅓ to ½ its distance from the mouth. Rostral wider than high, barely visible from above. Internasals as long as or slightly shorter than the prefrontals. Frontal slightly broader than the supraocular, 1⅓ to 1½ times as long as broad, as long as its distance from the rostral, much shorter than the parietals. One preocular, in contact with the nasal. One or two postoculars. Temporals 1+1. Seven upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye. Four lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shield. First lower labial forming a suture with its fellow behind the mental. Two pairs of chin shields, the anterior pair longer than the posterior pair.