Detached scale?

[Shamri]

Atticus seems to have a slightly detached scale near his vent. Should I be concerned about this? In the picture, it's right under the black triangle of scales.

[auhsojnacnud]

This is a body part of male snakes, I don't remember what its called but I watched a video where they guy said "Its used to hold the female while mating" It wasn't a very good video and the guy sounded kinda sketchy. So I don't know if its true, but its on my snake as well. There should also be another on the other side of the snake.

[Solarsoldier001]

I think male and females have them


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[kiiarah]

Exactly, this is called a vestigial spur. They have one on either side and they can occasionally be seen protruding slightly, but it is nothing to worry about. It is correct that they are used in mating, but interestingly enough many scientists believe that these are actually what is left of rear limbs. It is a controversial subject, so take any of this with a grain of salt, but according to evolutionary biology somewhere along the timeline certain lizardlike species underwent a shift in their skeletal blueprint. This resulted in a loss of the front limbs (as what would have been a collar bone area shifted past the neck and was lost entirely) and the rear limbs were not lost entirely but reduced dramatically over time. One reason scientists label pythons as a primitive species of snake is the fact that in pythons you can still find a pelvic bone, a feature more modern snakes lack. They still have the pelvic area and femur, with these spurs attached, which scientists believe indicates that they are closer genetically to their evolutionary ancestors than most. They also still have two lungs as opposed to only one. Here are some interesting pics I found in an image search illustrating the skeletal structure, and a photo that looks very much like the one you shared. They really are fascinating little critters!

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[Shamri]

A reassuring answer and a lesson in evolution. Both are much appreciated, thanks!

[calmolly1]

Love learning that info! Thanks!


Molly & Steve
0.1 Normal BP. PRECIOUCESS
0.1 Normal Columbian BCI. LUNA

[kiiarah]

Seems like every day I learn something new and fascinating about these guys. I just love learning about all their adaptations. For such a simple looking animal, they are remarkably complex and capable. ^_^ The most recent interesting fact that I came across is that they can hear and smell in stereo, due to the forked tongue and their jaw being comprised of two separate parts. Apparently they now believe that snakes use their jaw bones in conjunction with their inner ear in order to sense sound waves in much the same way a ship would tranlslate waves of water. This is one reason they so often rest and slither with their jaw in contact with the ground. They still believe they are deaf to airborne sound (the vibration doesn't carry well) but their ability to sense transmission of vibration through the ground is extremely good.