Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Just prior to shedding, the skin becomes dull and dry looking and the snake's eyes turn cloudy or blue-coloured. The old layer of skin splits near the mouth and the snake wriggles out, aided by rubbing against rough surfaces. In many cases the cast skin peels backward over the body from head to tail, in one piece like an old sock.
Most reptiles have scaly skin which protects them from predators in addition to water retention; the crocodile's scutes and the shells of the Chelonia: tortoises, turtles and terrapins. Numerous mammals employ the use of spines and body armour, although not as sturdy as reptilian armour, like the spines of the echidnas and of porcupines and ...
Discarded exoskeleton of dragonfly nymph Exoskeleton of cicada attached to a Tridax procumbens (colloquially known as the tridax daisy)An exoskeleton (from Greek έξω éxō "outer" [1] and σκελετός skeletós "skeleton" [2] [3]) is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs ...
Squamata (/ s k w æ ˈ m eɪ t ə /, Latin squamatus, 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards and snakes.With over 12,162 species, [3] it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates, after the perciform fish.
The structure of lizard osteoderms is relatively simple. They have a deep layer of lamellar bone, and a more apparent layer of woven fibered bone. Over time these osteoderms become even more simplified. [17] Some lizards have different additional elements of the osteoderm that are accessories to the normal cranial elements.
The slender glass lizard, which is usually tan or brown with long stripes along the length of its body, can grow as large as 42 inches long, and that would be a very large example, Owens said ...
Second, most lepidosaurs have the ability to autotomize their tails. However, this trait has been lost on some recent species. In lizards and rhynchocephalians, fracture planes are present within the vertebrae of the tail that allow for its removal. Some lizards have multiple fracture planes, while others just have a single fracture plane.
The scales of all reptiles have an epidermal component (what one sees on the surface), but many reptiles, such as crocodilians and turtles, have osteoderms underlying the epidermal scale. Such scales are more properly termed scutes. Snakes, tuataras and many lizards lack osteoderms. All reptilian scales have a dermal papilla underlying the ...