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 ).
Most snakes have extra broad scales on the belly, each scale covering the belly from side to side. 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.
A scale protects the body of the snake, aids it in locomotion, allows moisture to be retained within, alters the surface characteristics such as roughness to aid in camouflage, and in some cases even aids in prey capture (such as Acrochordus). The simple or complex colouration patterns (which help in camouflage and anti-predator display) are a ...
4 Characteristics of reptiles. ... List of reptiles. ... Reptile scales; Reptile reproduction. Reptile incubation; Human impact on reptiles
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.
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 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 ...
The snout-vent length is up to 50 mm, with the snout having a beak-like shape formed by a protruding rostral and a large mental scale. [2] [3] The species has a slender tail and slender, clawed digits. [4] The skin is covered by tubercle, granule, and intergranule scales. These scales are covered in long spinules surrounded by struts and pits. [5]