Anal scale

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Scale covering the cloacal opening in snakes

title: "Anal scale" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["snake-scales"] description: "Scale covering the cloacal opening in snakes" topic_path: "general/snake-scales" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_scale" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Scale covering the cloacal opening in snakes ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/AB122_-_Anal_scale_undivided.JPG" caption="elapid"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/AB123_-_Anal_scale_divided.JPG" caption="colubrid]]. See the undivided ventral scales to its left and the divided caudal scales to the right."] ::

In snakes, the anal scale or anal plate is the scale just in front of and covering the cloacal opening. This scale can be either single ("anal entire") or paired ("anal divided"). When paired, the division is oblique. The anal scale is preceded by the ventral scales and followed by the subcaudal scales.

References

References

  1. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxicology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. {{ISBN. 0-89464-877-2.
  2. [[Albert Hazen Wright. Wright AH]], Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). {{ISBN. 0-8014-0463-0.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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