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Reptile scale
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<p><a href="/facts/Reptile/04n1uKf1">Reptile</a> skin is covered with <a href="/facts/Scute/IeqbYure">scutes</a> or <a href="/facts/Scale_(anatomy)/Sv9n8Edz">scales</a> which, along with many other characteristics, distinguish reptiles from animals of other classes. They are made of <a href="/facts/Alpha-keratin/vMn5p3lx">alpha</a> and <a href="/facts/Beta-keratin/8KBa69EQ">beta-keratin</a> and are formed from the <a href="/facts/Epidermis/JvRABubP">epidermis</a> (contrary to fish, in which the scales are formed from the <a href="/facts/Dermis/WAm7Fd6P">dermis</a>). The scales may be ossified or tubercular, as in the case of <a href="/facts/Lizard/VPCpCwjT">lizards</a>, or modified elaborately, as in the case of <a href="/facts/Snake/YhA2gcn0">snakes</a>. </p><p>The scales on the top of lizard and snake heads has also been called <i>pileus</i>, after the Latin word for cap, referring to the fact that these scales sit on the skull like a cap. </p>