دورية أكاديمية
The first description of dermal armour in snakes
| العنوان: | The first description of dermal armour in snakes |
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| المؤلفون: | Petra Frýdlová, Veronika Janovská, Jana Mrzílková, Milada Halašková, Markéta Riegerová, Jan Dudák, Veronika Tymlová, Jan Žemlička, Petr Zach, Daniel Frynta |
| المصدر: | Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2023) |
| بيانات النشر: | Nature Portfolio, 2023. |
| سنة النشر: | 2023 |
| المجموعة: | LCC:Medicine LCC:Science |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: | Medicine, Science |
| الوصف: | Abstract Osteoderms, also called dermal armour, often play a role in predator defence. The presence of osteoderms is highly irregularly distributed across the squamate phylogeny and they have not been found in snakes. In this study, we searched for candidate snake species that would benefit from such armour to protect their body, focusing primarily on fossorial species with defensive tail displays. We examined the tail morphology of 27 snake species from different families using micro-computed tomography (µCT) and micro- radiography. We discovered dermal armour in four species of sand boas (Erycidae) that also feature enlarged and highly modified caudal vertebrae. This is the first description of dermal armour in snakes. Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that osteoderms likely evolved once or multiple times in Erycidae. We have not found osteoderms in any other examined snake species. Nevertheless, similar structures are known from unrelated squamate clades, such as gerrhosaurids and geckos. This supports the idea of underlying deep developmental homology. We propose the hypothesis that osteoderms protect sand boas like the “brigandine armour” of medieval warriors. We interpret it as another component of the sand boas' rich defence strategy. |
| نوع الوثيقة: | article |
| وصف الملف: | electronic resource |
| اللغة: | English |
| تدمد: | 2045-2322 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-023-33244-6 |
| URL الوصول: | https://doaj.org/article/203c3c2b439746888f00c51b7fb87fdd |
| رقم الأكسشن: | edsdoj.203c3c2b439746888f00c51b7fb87fdd |
| قاعدة البيانات: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
Find this article in full text from Springer Verlag. 
Full Text Finder | تدمد: | 20452322 |
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| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-023-33244-6 |