Komodo Reptile Scales

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Scales mostly consist of hard beta keratins which are basically transparent. The colours of the scale are due to pigments in the inner layers of the skin and not due to the scale material itself. Scales are hued for all colours in this manner except for blue and green. Blue is caused by the ultrastructure of the scales. By itself, such a scale surface diffracts light and gives a blue hue, while, in combination with yellow from the inner skin it gives a beautiful iridescent green. Snakes have smaller scales around the mouth and sides of the body which allow expansion so that a snake can consume prey of much larger width than itself. Snake scales are made of keratin, the same material that hair and fingernails are made of. [9] They are cool and dry to touch. [10] Surface and shape [ edit ] The dorsal (or body) scales on the snake's body are arranged in rows along the length of their bodies. Adjacent rows are diagonally offset from each other. Most snakes have an odd number of rows across the body though certain species have an even number of rows e.g. Zaocys spp. [8] In the case of some aquatic and marine snakes, the scales are granular and the rows cannot be counted. [20] Snake scales occur in variety of shapes. They may be cycloid as in family Typhlopidae, [11] long and pointed with pointed tips, as in the case of the green vine snake Ahaetulla nasuta, [12] broad and leaf-like, as in the case of green pit vipers Trimeresurus spp. [12] or as broad as they are long, for example, as in rat snake Ptyas mucosus. [12]

Farmer, C.G. (2000). "Parental care: The key to understanding endothermy and other convergent features in birds and mammals". American Naturalist. 155 (3): 326–334. doi: 10.1086/303323. PMID 10718729. S2CID 17932602. Evans, Susan E.; Klembara, Jozef (2005). "A choristoderan reptile (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Lower Miocene of northwest Bohemia (Czech Republic)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (1): 171–184. doi: 10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0171:ACRRDF]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 84097919. Exposed parts of reptiles are protected by scales or scutes, sometimes with a bony base ( osteoderms), forming armor. In lepidosaurians, 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 lepidosaurians. [ citation needed] The scales found in turtles and crocodiles are of dermal, rather than epidermal, origin and are properly termed scutes. [ citation needed] In turtles, the body is hidden inside a hard shell composed of fused scutes. In the late 19th century, a number of definitions of Reptilia were offered. The traits listed by Lydekker in 1896, for example, include a single occipital condyle, a jaw joint formed by the quadrate and articular bones, and certain characteristics of the vertebrae. [14] The animals singled out by these formulations, the amniotes other than the mammals and the birds, are still those considered reptiles today. [15] The first reptiles had an anapsid type of skull roof, as seen in the Permian genus Captorhinus After the extinction of most archosaur and marine reptile lines by the end of the Cretaceous, reptile diversification continued throughout the Cenozoic. Squamates took a massive hit during the K–Pg event, only recovering ten million years after it, [62] but they underwent a great radiation event once they recovered, and today squamates make up the majority of living reptiles (> 95%). [63] [64] Approximately 10,000 extant species of traditional reptiles are known, with birds adding about 10,000 more, almost twice the number of mammals, represented by about 5,700living species (excluding domesticated species). [65]

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Mallow D., Ludwig D., Nilson G. (2003). True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2. The reptile has rough scales or bony plates covering the skin which are shed on a regular basis. These cold-blooded creatures cannot maintain a consistent internal body temperature and rely completely on the external environment to warm up or cool down. Boulenger, George A., (1890), The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor and Francis, London. Laurenti, J.N. (1768). Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena[ Medical Specimen: Presenting an improved synopsis of reptiles with experiments on poisons] (in Latin). Archived from the original (facsimile) on 2015-09-04. — shows the mixed composition of Reptilia. Crocodiles are protected in many parts of the world, and are farmed commercially. Their hides are tanned and used to make leather goods such as shoes and handbags; crocodile meat is also considered a delicacy. [166] The most commonly farmed species are the saltwater and Nile crocodiles. Farming has resulted in an increase in the saltwater crocodile population in Australia, as eggs are usually harvested from the wild, so landowners have an incentive to conserve their habitat. Crocodile leather is made into wallets, briefcases, purses, handbags, belts, hats, and shoes. Crocodile oil has been used for various purposes. [167]

Parthenogenetic species are suspected to occur among chameleons, agamids, xantusiids, and typhlopids. Highly developed lungs – All reptiles rely on their lungs to breathe air. Even species with permeable skin and other adaptations never completely breathe without the use of their lungs. Spotila, J.R.; O'Connor, M.P.; Dodson, P.; Paladino, F.V. (1991). "Hot and cold running dinosaurs: body size, metabolism and migration". Modern Geology. 16: 203–227.Early in the period, the modern reptiles, or crown-group reptiles, evolved and split into two main lineages: the Archosauromorpha (forebears of turtles, crocodiles, and dinosaurs) and the Lepidosauromorpha (predecessors of modern lizards and tuataras). Both groups remained lizard-like and relatively small and inconspicuous during the Permian. In the 18th century, the reptiles were, from the outset of classification, grouped with the amphibians. Linnaeus, working from species-poor Sweden, where the common adder and grass snake are often found hunting in water, included all reptiles and amphibians in class "III – Amphibia" in his Systema Naturæ. [7] Scale arrangements are important, not only for taxonomic utility, but also for forensic reasons and conservation of snake species. [19]