Rostral scale

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Head of the rat snake Coluber ventromaculatus in lateral (left) and dorsal (right) views with the rostral scale highlighted

The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median (midline) plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. [1] It corresponds to the mental scale in the lower jaw. The term pertains to the rostrum, or nose. In snakes, the shape and size of this scale is one of many characteristics used to differentiate species from one another.

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See also

References

  1. ↑ Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). ISBN   0-8014-0463-0.
  2. ↑ Deufel, Alexandra (2017). "Burrowing with a kinetic snout in a snake (Elapidae: Aspidelaps scutatus)" . Journal of Morphology. 278 (12): 1706–1715. doi:10.1002/jmor.20743. ISSN   0362-2525.
  3. ↑ Albuquerque, Nelson R.; Martins, Roullien H.; Carvalho, Priscila S.; Shepard, Donald B.; Santana, Diego J. (2025-01-30). "A new species of parrot snake, Leptophis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Brazilian Cerrado". PeerJ . 13: e18528. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18528 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   11787803 . PMID   39897499.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
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