Polemon notatus

Polemon notatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Lamprophiidae
Genus:	Polemon
Species:	P. notatus
Binomial name
	Polemon notatus; (Peters, 1882)
Synonyms
	Microsoma notatum Peters, 1882[1]; Miodon notatus - Boulenger, 1896[2]; Cynodontophis aemulans Werner, 1902[1];

Polemon notatus is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Atractaspididae.[3] It is endemic to Africa.[4]

Geographic range

It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.[1]

Description

Dorsally pale brown, with two series of round black spots, which may be light-edged. Dorsal surface of head black, nuchal collar black, and dorsal surface of tail black. Ventrals white, subcaudals white, and terminal caudal scale white.

Adults may attain a total length of 317 mm (12 ¹⁄₂ in), with a tail 29 mm (1 ¹⁄₈ in) long.

Dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 15 rows. Ventrals 181-200; anal plate divided; subcaudals 14-18, also divided.

Diameter of eye about half its distance from the mouth. Internasals as long as or slightly shorter than the prefrontals. Frontal a little longer than broad, much shorter than the parietals. Nasal divided, in contact with the preocular. One preocular. One or two postoculars. Temporals 1+1. Seven upper labials, the second in contact with the preocular, 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 longer than the posterior pair.[5]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized including the nominate race.

Polemon notatus aemulans (F. Werner, 1902)
Polemon notatus notatus (Peters, 1882)[1]

Footnotes

The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III. Trustees of the British Museum. London. p. 252.
"Polemon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
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. Trustees of the British Museum. London. pp. 249-250, 252-253.

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References

Peters, W.C.H. 1882. Den Namen der Batrachiergattung Hylonomus in Hyloscirtus zu ändern und legte zwei neue Arten von Schlangen, Microsoma notatum, und Liophis ygraecum. Sitzungsber. Ges. naurf. Freunde Berlin 1882(8):127-129.
Werner, F. 1902. Über westafrikanische Reptilien. Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. Wien 52:332-348.

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[reptile-database.org-1] The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

[2] Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III. Trustees of the British Museum. London. p. 252.

[ITIS-3] "Polemon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 September 2007.

[RDB-4] Polemon at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 May 2009.

[5] Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III. Trustees of the British Museum. London. pp. 249-250, 252-253.