Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Reptile skin is covered with scutes or scales which, along with many other characteristics, distinguish reptiles from animals of other classes. They are made of alpha and beta-keratin and are formed from the epidermis (contrary to fish, in which the scales are formed from the dermis ).
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 .
Elaborately shaped scales on the head of a Vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta. Scales of a black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus). Snakes, like other reptiles, have skin covered in scales. [1] Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes, known as snakeskin as a whole.
Reptiles, including snakes, possess extensive keratinization of the epidermis in the form of epidermal scales. [10] A snake's epidermis is composed of four layers. The outer layer of a snake's skin is shed periodically, and is therefore a temporary layer, and is highly keratinized.
Exposed parts of reptiles are protected by scales or scutes, sometimes with a bony base , forming armor. In lepidosaurs, such as lizards and snakes, the whole skin is covered in overlapping epidermal scales. Such scales were once thought to be typical of the class Reptilia as a whole, but are now known to occur only in lepidosaurs.
Unlike the scales of lizards and snakes, which are formed from the epidermis, scutes are formed in the lower vascular layer of the skin and the epidermal element is only the top surface [citation needed]. Forming in the living dermis, the scutes produce a horny outer layer that is
Beta-keratin (β-keratin) is a member of a structural protein family found in the epidermis of reptiles and birds. [1] [2] Beta-keratins were named so because they are components of epidermal stratum corneum rich in stacked beta sheets, in contrast to alpha-keratins, intermediate-filament proteins also found in stratum corneum and rich in alpha helices. [3]
The epidermal scutes of the alligator consists of oblong horny scales, arranged in transverse rows; the long axes of the scales are parallel to that of the body.On the tail, except along the mid-dorsal line, and on the ventral side of the trunk and head these scales are very regular in outline and arrangement; on the sides of the head and trunk and on the legs they are much smaller and less ...