In
scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the
eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
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[Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .] The size and shape of these scales are among the many characteristics used to differentiate species from each another.
In many species of
boids and
viperids, the supraoculars are heavily fragmented. In others, such as the
colubrids and
elapids, they are enlarged.
See also
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Ocular scales
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Snake scales
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 jo ...
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Anatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position ...
References
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Snake scales