The first description of dermal armour in snakes

Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F23%3A10459069" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/23:10459069 - isvavai.cz</a>
Alternative codes found
RIV/68407700:21670/23:00372915 RIV/00216208:11120/23:43925375
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=O.Spe5Z5ag" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=O.Spe5Z5ag</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33244-6" target="_blank" >10.1038/s41598-023-33244-6</a>

Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The first description of dermal armour in snakes
Original language description
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.
Czech name
—
Czech description
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Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
—
OECD FORD branch
30224 - Radiology, nuclear medicine and medical imaging

Project
<a href="/en/project/EF16_019%2F0000766" target="_blank" >EF16_019/0000766: Engineering applications of microworld physics</a><br>
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year
2023
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

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