The lore (adj. loreal) is the region between the eyes and nostrils of birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Ornithology
In ornithology, the lore is the region between the eye and bill on the side of a
bird's head. This region is sometimes featherless, and the skin may be tinted, as in many species of the
cormorant family.
This area, which is directly in front of the eye, features a "loral stripe" in many bird species including the
red-capped plover
The red-capped plover (''Charadrius ruficapillus''), also known as the red-capped dotterel, is a small species of plover.
It breeds in Australia. This species is closely related to (and sometimes considered conspecific with) the Kentish plover, ...
.
Herpetology
In
amphibians and
reptiles, lore pertains to the regions immediately adjacent to the eyes and between the eyes and nostrils. These are analogous to the lore on
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s which corresponds to the region between the eye and the beak.
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 and reptiles, a loreal scale also refers to the
scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number w ...
which lie between the eye and the nostril.
In
crotaline snakes (pit vipers),
loreal pit
The loreal pit is the deep depression, or fossa, in the loreal area on either side of the head in pit vipers (crotaline snakes). The area is located behind the nostril and in front of the eye, but below the line that runs between the centers o ...
s are present on either side of the head.
[Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. .]
See also
*
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 joints ...
*
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 pro ...
References
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Bird anatomy
Snake scales
Reptile anatomy
Amphibian anatomy