In
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s, occipital scales are enlarged plates that lie directly behind the
parietal scales
Parietal scale refers to the scales of a snake which are on the head of the snake and are connected to the frontals towards the posterior. These scales are analogous to and take their name from the parietal bone which forms the roof and sides of ...
.
[Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .]
An interoccipital is a scale located between the occipital scales.
[Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. .]
Related scales
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Parietal scales
Parietal scale refers to the scales of a snake which are on the head of the snake and are connected to the frontals towards the posterior. These scales are analogous to and take their name from the parietal bone which forms the roof and sides of ...
.
See also
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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 joints ...
.
References
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Snake scales