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Polemon (snake)
Genus of snakes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Polemon is a genus of rear-fanged mildly 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.
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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).
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Species
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* Not including the nominate subspecies.
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References
Further reading
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