Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The scales may be ossified or tubercular, as in the case of lizards, or modified elaborately, as in the case of snakes. [1] The scales on the top of lizard and snake heads has also been called pileus, after the Latin word for cap, referring to the fact that these scales sit on the skull like a cap. [2]
Rainbow boas get their name from the coloration of their scales caused by iridescence. The ventral (or belly) scales, which are large and oblong, are especially low-friction, and some arboreal species can use the edges to grip branches. Snake skin and scales help retain moisture in the animal's body. [3]
Keeled scales of a colubrid snake (banded water snake; Nerodia fasciata). In zoology, a scale (Ancient Greek: λεπίς, romanized: lepís; Latin: squāma) is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection.
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.
Turtles, like other reptiles, have a limited ability to regulate their body temperature. This ability varies between species, and with body size. Small pond turtles regulate their temperature by crawling out of the water and basking in the sun, while small terrestrial turtles move between sunny and shady places to adjust their temperature.
[101] [104] Other snakes kill their prey by constriction, [101] while some swallow their prey when it is still alive. [26]: 81 [101] After eating, snakes become dormant to allow the process of digestion to take place; [67] this is an intense activity, especially after consumption of large prey.
Nomenclature of scales (top view of head) Parietal scales are the scales of a snake located on the snake's head and are connected to the frontals towards the posterior. [1] These plate-like scales are analogous to and take their name from the parietal bone, which forms the roof and sides of the cranium in humans.
Dorsal scales on a banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus. In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. [1] When counting dorsal scales, numbers are often given for three points along the body, for example 19:21:17.