Polemon

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Elapoidea

Familia: Atractaspididae
Subfamilia: Aparallactinae
Genus: Polemon
Species (14): P. acanthias – P. ater – P. barthii – P. bocourti – P. christyi – P. collaris – P. fulvicollis – P. gabonensis – P. gracilis – P. graueri – P. griseiceps – P. neuwiedi – P. notatus – P. robustus
Name

Polemon Jan, 1858: 520

Type species: Polemon barthii Jan, 1858, by monotypy.
References
Primary references

Jan, G. 1858. Plan d’une iconographie descriptive des ophidiens et description sommaire de nouvelles espèces de serpents. Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée Série 2, 10: 438–449; 514–527. BHL (part I) BHL (part II) Reference page.

Additional references

Portillo, F., Branch, W.R., Tilbury, C.R., Nagy, Z.T., Hughes, D.F., Kusamba, C., Muninga, W.M., Aristote, M.M., Behangana, M. & Greenbaum, E. 2019. A Cryptic New Species of Polemon (Squamata: Lamprophiidae, Aparallactinae) from the Miombo Woodlands of Central and East Africa. Copeia 107(1): 22–36. DOI: 10.1643/CH-18-098 Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Polemon . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 27 June 2019.

Vernacular names
English: Snake-Eating Snakes

Polemon is a genus of rear-fanged venomous snakes in the family Atractaspididae. The genus is endemic to Africa. Fifteen species are recognized as being valid.[1][2]

Miodon is a synonym. The mollusc genus of family Carditidae invalidly described by Carpenter in 1863 has been renamed Miodontiscus.

Common name

The common name of this genus is snake-eaters, for their habit of feeding mainly on smaller snakes.
Description

In the genus Polemon 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.

The 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
Genus Polemon -- 13 species

Species^[1]	Taxon author^[1]	Subspecies*^[1]	Common name^[2]	Geographic range^[2]
P. acanthias^[4]	(J.T. Reinhardt, 1860)	————	Reinhardt's snake-eater	Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone.
P. ater	Portillo, Branch, Tilbury, Nagy, Hughes, Kusamba, Muninga, Aristote, Behangana & Greenbaum, 2019	————	black snake-eater	Central Africa, East Africa.
P. barthii	Jan, 1858	————	Guinea snake-eater	Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon.
P. bocourti	Mocquard, 1897	————	Bocourt's snake-eater	Cameroon, Río Muni, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire).
P. christyi	(Boulenger, 1903)	————	eastern snake-eater	Dem. Rep. Congo, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia.
P. collaris	(W. Peters, 1881)	brevior longior	collared snake-eater	Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Nigeria, Central African Republic.
P. fulvicollis	(Mocquard, 1887)	gracilis graueri laurenti	African snake-eater	Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Congo, Uganda.
P. gabonensis	(A.H.A. Duméril, 1856)	schmidti	Gaboon snake-eater	Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Central African Republic.
P. gracilis	(Boulenger, 1911)	————	graceful snake-eater	South Cameroon.
P. graueri	(Sternfeld, 1908)	————	Grauer's snake-eater	Uganda, eastern Zaire.
P. griseiceps	(Laurent, 1947)	————	Cameroon snake-eater	Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo.
P. leopoldi	(de Witte, 1941)	————		Rwanda.
P. neuwiedi	(Jan, 1858)	————	Ivory Coast snake-eater	Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Nigeria.
P. notatus	(W. Peters, 1882)	aemulans		Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon.
P. robustus	(de Witte & Laurent, 1943)	————	Zaire snake-eater	Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Central African Republic.

* Not including the nominate subspecies.
See also

Snakebite.

References

"Polemon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
Polemon at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 May 2009.
Boulenger GA (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).

"A Cryptic New Species of Polemon (Squamata: Lamprophiidae, Aparallactinae) from the Miombo Woodlands of Central and East Africa". Novataxa. Retrieved 11 February 2019.