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1 November 2012 Scales Microstructure of Snakes from the Egyptian Area
Ahmed A. Allam, Rasha E. Abo-Eleneen
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Abstract

The morphology of many organisms seems to be related to the environments in which they live. Many snakes are so similar in their morphological patterns that it becomes quite difficult to distinguish any adaptive divergence that may have occurred. Many authors have suggested that the microstructure of the reptile's scales has important functional value. Herein, we investigate variations on the micromorphology of the external surface of dorsal scales on the head, the mid-body region (trunk), and the tail of Rhomphotyphlops braminus (Typhlopidae), Eryx jaculus (Boidae), Psammophis sibilans (Colubridae), Naja haje (Elapidae) and Echis carinatus (Viperidae). The specimens were metallized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. All species displayed unique dorsal scale surface microstructures of the investigated regions. The microstructural pattern of the scales of head, trunk, and tail differs in different species of these snakes. In conclusion, we detected ecomorphologic relationships between extant dorsal scale microstructures and snake microhabitat, enabling us to hypothesize that environmental pressures have significant influences not only on these animals' macrostructure, but also on its microstructure as well.

© 2012 Zoological Society of Japan
Ahmed A. Allam and Rasha E. Abo-Eleneen "Scales Microstructure of Snakes from the Egyptian Area," Zoological Science 29(11), 770-775, (1 November 2012). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.29.770
Received: 27 December 2011; Accepted: 1 May 2012; Published: 1 November 2012
KEYWORDS
Echis carinatus
Eryx jaculus
microstructure
Naja haje
Psammophis sibilans
Rhomphotyphlops braminus
snake
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