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 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]
- ^ Smith, Malcolm A. (1931). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma. Vol. I.—Loricata, Testudines. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 185 pp. + Plates I-II. ("Skin", p. 30).
- ^ Friederich, Ursel (1078). "Der Pileus der Squamata". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. A (307): 1–64.