Polemon bocourti, or Bocourt's snake-eater, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the subfamily Aparallactinae of the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to Central Africa (from Cameroon through Equatorial Guinea to Gabon and east to the Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo).[3]

Polemon bocourti
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Atractaspididae
Genus: Polemon
Species:
P. bocourti
Binomial name
Polemon bocourti
Synonyms[3]

Aparallactus Hagmanni Gough, 1902

Etymology

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The specific name, bocourti, is in honor of French herpetologist Marie Firmin Bocourt.[3][4]

Geographic range

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Polemon bocourti is found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and western and central Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitat of P. bocourti, is forest, at altitudes of 200–1,200 m (660–3,940 ft).[1]

Description

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Polemon bocourti is similar to P. barthii, but is distinguished from it by having two postoculars, and by having a lower number of ventrals, only 199–202.[2]

Behavior

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Polemon bocourti is terrestrial and fossorial.[1]

Reproduction

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Polemon bocourti is oviparous.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c LeBreton, M.; Kusamba, C.; Gonwouo, N.L.; Zassi-Boulou, A.-G. (2021). "Polemon bocourti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T13264508A13264512. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T13264508A13264512.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Mocquard F (1897). "Sur une collection de Reptiles recueillie par M. Haug, a Lambaréné". Bulletin de la Société Philomathique de Paris (in French). 8 (9): 5–20. (Polemon bocourti, new species, p. 13).
  3. ^ a b c d e Polemon bocourti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 4 June 2018.
  4. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Polemon bocourti, p. 29).

Further reading

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  • Chirio L, LeBreton M (2008). Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. Paris: Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. 688 pp. ISBN 978-2856536032. (Polemon bocourti, p. 642). (in French).
  • Hughes B (2003). "Polemon barthii Jan 1858 and Polemon bocourti Mocquard 1897, two West African snakes which are allopatric, not sympatric". African Journal of Herpetology 52 (2): 113–117.
  • Pauwels OSG, Vande Weghe JP (2008). Les Reptiles du Gabon. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xxvi + 298 pp. ISBN 978-1893912014. (in French).
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