In
snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
s, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the
ventral scales
In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...
.
[ Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 2 volumes. 870 pp. 1,500 plates. .]
When counting dorsal scales, numbers are often given for three points along the body, for example 19:21:17. These numbers correspond to the number of dorsal scales around the body at a head's length behind the head, at midbody and at a head's length before the vent. If only one number is given, it is for the midbody count.
Dorsal scale are easiest to count diagonally, starting with the
paraventral scale row.
In doing so, it is often noted that certain scale rows are raised,
keeled or smooth as opposed to the others.
[U.S. Navy (1991). ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. United States Government. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. .]
See also
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Snake scales
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Anatomical terms of location
References
Snake scales
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