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repeated periodically throughout a snake's life. Before a moult, the snake stops eating and often hides or moves to a safe place. 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. A new, larger, and brighter layer of skin has formed underneath. An older snake may shed its skin only once or twice a year, but a younger snake that is still growing may shed up to four times a year.
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Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes. Scales protect the body of the snake, aid it in locomotion, allow moisture to be retained within and give simple or complex colouration patterns which help in camouflage and anti-predator display. In some snakes, scales
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Moulting performs a number of functions: firstly, the old and worn skin is replaced; secondly, it helps to get rid of parasites such as mites and ticks. Renewal of the skin by moulting is supposed to allow growth in some animals such as insects, however this view has been disputed in the case of
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Snakes always shed the complete outer layer of skin in one piece. Snake scales are not discrete but extensions of the epidermis, hence they are not shed separately but are ejected as a complete contiguous outer layer of skin during each moult, akin to a sock being turned inside out. Moulting is
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In the case of lizards, this coating is shed periodically and usually comes off in flakes, but some lizards (such as those with elongated bodies) shed the skin in a single piece. Some geckos will eat their own shed skin.
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While scales are an integral part of reptile taxonomy, the terminology is not entirely consistent. For instance, the scales between the nostrils are sometimes called supranasals and sometimes internasals.
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Lizard scales may differ strongly in form on different parts of the lizard and are often of use in taxonomy to differentiate species (or higher taxa, such as families). For instance, members of the family
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The shape and number of scales on the head, back and belly are characteristic to family, genus and species. Scales have a nomenclature analogous to the position on the body. In "advanced" (
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have been modified over time to serve other functions such as 'eyelash' fringes, and protective covers for the eyes with the most distinctive modification being the
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rather than the epidermis, and does not form the same sort of overlapping structure as snake scales. These dermal scales are more properly called
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The Fauna of
British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.
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London: Secretary of State for India in
Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 185 pp. + Plates I-II. ("Skin", p. 30).
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London: Secretary of State for India in
Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps.
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which, along with many other characteristics, distinguish reptiles from animals of other classes. They are made of
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and is thought to allow the snake to grow. The shape and arrangement of scales is used to identify snake species.
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to platelike, or imbricate (overlapping). These scales, which on the surface are composed of horny (
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their scaly skins and acquire new ones. This permits replacement of old worn out skin, disposal of
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The Fauna of
British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria.
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374:. London: London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers).
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London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and
Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp.
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The Fauna of
British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia
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The Fauna of
British India, Ceylon and Burma. Vol. I.—Loricata, Testudines.
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102:) epidermis, may have bony plates underlying them; these plates are called
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The scales on the top of lizard and snake heads has also been called
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467:. Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press.
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have no such "plates" but only very small head scales.
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136:Terminology of shields on the head of a snake.
173:) snakes, the broad belly scales and rows of
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116:have large head plates (Figure 2) while
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465:Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians
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16:Scales covering the skin of Reptiles
348:Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde
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251:The shedding of scales is called
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247:), a rattlesnake, seen moulting
397:. Singapore Zoological Gardens
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287:Anatomical terms of location
438:"General Snake Information"
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480:Smith, Malcolm A. (1943).
342:Friederich, Ursel (1078).
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344:"Der Pileus der Squamata"
94:scales vary in form from
370:Boulenger, G.A. (1890).
52:and are formed from the
463:Daniels, J.C. (2002).
417:"ZooPax Scales Part 3"
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158:. Snakes periodically
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36:skin is covered with
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448:on 25 November 2007.
391:"Are Snakes Slimy?"
304:Reptiles portal
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219:and tails of some
177:correspond to the
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471:Smith, Malcolm A.
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244:Crotalus durissus
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50:beta-keratin
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142:Snake scale
100:keratinized
457:References
421:WhoZoo.org
292:Fish scale
241:Cascavel (
201:crocodiles
183:dissection
114:Lacertidae
105:osteoderms
96:tubercular
401:14 August
263:sloughing
179:vertebrae
164:parasites
54:epidermis
28:crocodile
493:Category
473:(1935).
328:(1931).
281:See also
269:snakes.
258:moulting
253:ecdysis
233:Ecdysis
227:Ecdysis
221:mammals
205:turtles
151:of the
62:lizards
34:Reptile
213:scutes
209:dermis
189:Scutes
149:rattle
118:geckos
92:Lizard
73:pileus
66:snakes
58:dermis
42:scales
38:scutes
24:Scutes
217:birds
195:Scute
160:moult
46:alpha
26:on a
403:2006
203:and
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261:or
199:In
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