| Polemon barthii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Atractaspididae |
| Genus: | Polemon |
| Species: | P. barthii |
| Binomial name | |
| Polemon barthii Jan, 1858 |
|
Polemon barthii, or the Guinea snake-eater, is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the Atractaspididae family.[1] It is endemic to Africa.[2]
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The specific name, barthii, is in honor of German explorer Heinrich Barth.
It is found in Cameroon, Guinea, and Ivory Coast.[3]
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 (31⅞ inches), with a tail 4 cm (1½ inch) long.
Dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 15 rows. 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.[4]