Histology of the Skin of Three Limbless Squamates Dwelling in Mesic and Arid Environments.
The skin of limbless squamates has an increased contact with the substrate compared with limbed counterparts. Comparatively, the contact with the substrate is intensified in fossorial species, where the whole circumference of the body interacts with the soil during underground locomotion. Although fossoriality in Squamata, specifically lizards and snakes, has been studied ecologically and morphologically (e.g., osteological changes), not enough detail is yet available regarding changes in organs critical for underground lifestyle such as the skin. Here we used histological and microscopical techniques (scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy) to uncover the structural detail of the epidermis and dermis in three limbless reptiles, the amphisbaenian Diplometopon zarudnyi, and two snakes, Indotyphlops braminus (Typhlopidae) and Cerastes cerastes (Viperidae). The skin of these taxa shows pronounced morphological diversity, which is likely associated to different environmental and functional demands upon these reptiles. Anat Rec, 299:979-989, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 65211, Egypt.|College of Science, Zoology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed A
AA
Allam
Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas.
Juan D
JD
Daza
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 65211, Egypt.
Rasha E
RE
Abo-Eleneen
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D003889:Desert Climate; D004777:Environment; D006652:Histological Techniques; D012104:Reptiles / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D014867:Water
Cerastes cerastes; Diplometopon zarudnyi; Indotyphlops braminus; amphisbaena; dermis; epidermis; serpentes