Mental scale

From Citizendium
Revision as of 11:18, 17 December 2006 by imported>Jaap Winius (Added cat tag for CZ Live.)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The mental scale, or mental, in snakes and other scaled reptiles refers to the median scale on the tip of the lower jaw.[1] It is a triangular scale that corresponds to the rostral of the upper jaw.[2] It is bordered on either side by the first infralabials.[3]

Cited references

  1. Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. ISBN 0-4014-0463-0.
  2. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
  3. Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.