Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Order Squamata | Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Suborder Serpentes | |
Polemon neuwiedi, or the Ivory Coast snake-eater, is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Atractaspididae. It is endemic to Africa.
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Etymology
The specific name or epithet, neuwiedi, honors Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, a German naturalist.
Geographic range
It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Togo.
Description
Dorsally, Polemon neuwiedi is pale brown with three narrow black stripes. The upper surface of the head and the base of the tail are black. Ventrally, it is white.
It may attain a total length of 172 mm (6 3⁄4 in), with a tail 10 mm (3⁄8 in) long.
The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 15 rows. Ventrals 238; anal plate divided; subcaudals 21, also divided.
Diameter of the eye less than its distance from the mouth. Rostral slightly broader than high, barely visible from above. Internasals shorter than the prefrontals. Frontal almost twice as broad as the supraocular, as long as broad, as long as its distance from the rostral, much shorter than the parietals. Nasal entire, in contact with the preocular. One preocular. One postocular. Temporals 1+1. Seven upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye. First lower labial forming a suture with its fellow behind the mental. Three lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shield. Two pairs of chin shields, the anterior pair slightly shorter than the posterior pair.