Roland Seitre / Grand Cayman Blue Iguana (Cyclura lewisi), adult that has been reintroduced to the wild from captive breeding programme. Endangered species.

Sandesh Kadur / Large scaled pit viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis) head profile, water droplet below, Western Ghats, Southern India

Pete Oxford / Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) The Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve, Telfair County, Georgia, USA, threatened species, captive

Linda Pitkin / 2020VISION / Brown trout (Salmo trutta), Ennerdale Valley, Lake District NP, Cumbria, England, UK, November 2011. Did you know? Trout scales have growth rings which you can read in the same way tree rings.

Jeff Rotman / Close-up of scales of the Yellowbar Angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus). Red Sea, Egypt.

Linda Pitkin / 2020VISION / Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) in disused quarry, Jackdaw Quarry, Capernwray, Carnforth, Lancashire, UK, August. Did you know? Brown trout scales have growth rings like tree trunks.

Daniel Heuclin / Close up of skin of Rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria cenchria) captive, from French Guiana

Daniel Heuclin / Indian cobra (Naja naja naja) studio shot, captive, from India and East Pakistan

Juergen Freund / Close-up of a Horned sea snake (Acalyptophis peronii) resting its head on its coils. Queensland, Australia, February

Danny Green / 2020VISION / Adder (Vipera berus) basking in the spring, Staffordshire, England, UK, April

Daniel Heuclin / Close-up of Red Coachwhip Snake (Masticophis flagellum cingulum) scales. Controlled conditions. Near Tombstone, Arizona, USA, September.

Alex Hyde / Panther Chameleon {Furcifer pardalis} close-up of skin, green colouration. Masoala Peninsula National Park, north east Madagascar.

Alex Hyde / Jumping spider {Salticidae} covered in iridescent scales photographed on white background, tropical rainforest, Masoala Peninsula National Park, north east Madagascar.

Alex Hyde / Panther chameleon close-up of skin {Furcifer pardalis} green colouration, Madagascar.

Alex Hyde / Close up of coiled tail of Parson's chameleon {Calumma parsonii} showing scales and strong green colouration. Tropical rainforest, Masoala Peninsula National Park, north east Madagascar.

Michel Roggo / Carp (Cyprinus carpio), Aare river, Switzerland 2006

Stephen Dalton / Close up of eye of Common green iguana (Iguana iguana)

Stephen Dalton / Close up of ear of Common green iguana (Iguana iguana) showing tympanic membrane

Edwin Giesbers / Shed skin of grass snake {Natrix natrix} on lilypad, Netherlands.

Edwin Giesbers / Eastern green mamba {Dendroaspis angusticeps} skin detail, captive, from East Africa

Edwin Giesbers / Western diamondback rattlesnake {Crotalus atrox} skin detail, captive, from Texas, USA

Edwin Giesbers / Mexican West Coast Rattle Snake {Crotalus basiliscus} close up of rattle, captive, from Central America

Michael Pitts / Malayan pangolin / Scaly anteater {Manis javanica} in tree, Komodo Island, Indonesia

Tony Heald / Temple / Wagler's Pit Viper [Tropidolaemus wagleri] Bako National Park, Sarawak, Borneo. September

Solvin Zankl / Dwarf puff adder / Peringueys sidewinding adder (Bitis peringueyi) camouflaged against sand, Namib desert, Namibia

Edwin Giesbers / Close up of Satiny Parrot Snake (Leptophis depressirostris), Costa Rica

Michael D. Kern / Close-up of eyes of Common iguana {Iguana iguana} composite. NOT FOR SALE TO TECHNOLOGYor FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRIES.

Tony Phelps / Grass snake {Natrix natrix} male with eyes glazed prior to moulting, Surrey, UK

Juergen Freund / Foot of saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Queensland, Australia

Doug Allan / Icefish {Chaenocephalus aceratus} Antarctica. Note - no scales or haemoglobin, so blood is white

Michael D. Kern / Variable / African bush viper snake {Atheris squamiger} captive, occurs equatorial Africa

Jabruson / Close up of skin of Puff adder {Bitis arietans} Tsavo East NP, Kenya

Mike Wilkes / Giant ground pangolin curled up (Manis gigantea) Tanzania.

Ingo Arndt / Close up of Chameleon skin, East Africa

John Cancalosi / Western diamondback rattlesnake close up {Crotalus atrox} rattle visible, Texas,

Mary McDonald / Gaboon viper head close-up {Bitis gabonica} captive

Katherine Feng / Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) baby being weighed on a scale at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Wolong Nature Reserve, China

Pete Oxford / Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) showing thermoreceptors between the labial scales, Amazon, Ecuador

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) portrait in rainforest, South America

Mark Moffett / Tokay Gecko (Gecko gecko) foot pads showing scales which enable it to climb vertical surfaces by using an intermolecular force called Van der Walls force, southeast Asia

Mark Moffett / Tokay Gecko (Gecko gecko) foot pads showing scales which enable it to climb vertical surfaces by using an intermolecular force called Van der Walls force, southeast Asia

Pete Oxford / Close up of Emerald tree boa's mouth and fangs {Corallus canina} Guyana - snake

Pete Oxford / D - Galapagos Giant tortoise portrait - Dome form {Geochelone elephantopus} retreating into shell. Darwin Research Station. Santa Cruz Is. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. South America

Pete Oxford / Galapagos Giant tortoise close up portrait - dome form {Geochelone elephantopus} retreating into shell. Galapagos Is

Pete Oxford / Marine iguana {Amblyrhynchus cristatus} Fernandina Is, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Temminck's ground pangolin {Manis temmincki} rolled in defensive ball Africa

John Cancalosi / Neotropical bird eating snake (Pseustes poecilonotus) Guanacaste National park, Costa Rica

Terry Whittaker / 2020VISION / Myotis bat probably a Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentoni) being weighed by researcher near Faversham, Kent, UK, September 2010

Terry Whittaker / 2020VISION / Myotis bat probably a Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentoni) being weighed inside a stocking, by researchers, Kent, UK, September 2010

Ernie Janes / Yemen or Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) close-up of skin, captive from the Middle-East

Suzi Eszterhas / Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)orphan baby being weighed, Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary, Costa Rica

Michel Roggo / Close-up of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). Salmon hatchery, France. Captive.

Albert Lleal / Cornsnake (Elaphe guttata) scales

Albert Lleal / Cornsnake (Elaphe guttata) ventral scales

Sebastian Kennerknecht / Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) researchers, Jennifer Aragon, Michael Johns, and Ilana Nimz, weighing chicks taken from artifical nesting burrows near research station, South Farallon Island...

Winfried Wisniewski / Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) walking with a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) on its back, Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

Mark Carwardine / Green tree python (Chondopython / Morelia viridis) captive, from rainforests of New Guinea and extreme northern Queensland

Christophe Courteau / Scales on tail of Spectacled Caiman / Jacare in water (Caiman crocodilus) Pantanal, Brazil.

Steven David Miller / Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) tail scales just above water surface, Mary River, Northern Territory, Australia

ZSSD / Jaguar (Panthera onca) cub being weighed, native to Central and South America

Juan Carlos Munoz / Dorsal scales of American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Everglades National Park, Florida, USA, February.

Chris Mattison / Close-up of the scales of a Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), captive, occurs in USA

Tui De Roy / Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) skin and scales close-up. Isabela Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, June.

Tui De Roy / Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) scales and spines on its dorsal crest. Isabela Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, June.

Michael D. Kern / Hairy bush viper (Atheris hispida) captive, from Central Africa

Michael D. Kern / White spotted cat snake (Boiga drapiezii) body forming figure of eight shape, captive, from South East Asia

Michael D. Kern / Hairy Bush Viper (Atheris hispida), captive from Central Africa

Pete Oxford / Giant Cockroach (Blaberus giganteus), Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Stinkhorn (Phallaceae) mushroom and Crested Forest Toad (Bufo margaritifer), Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Earthworm (Lumbricus sp) held up, Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Earthworm (Lumbricus sp), Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Alex Hyde / Purple Emperor Butterfly (Apatura iris) male, close up of wing showing iridescent purple scales. Captive, UK.

Rod Williams / Rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchris cenchris) head portrait. Captive, occurs Brazil.

Roland Seitre / Close up of Malayan / Javan / Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) scales. Mulhouse Zoo, France. Endemic to Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and other South-East Asian localities. Endangered due to hunting for t...

Roland Seitre / Close-up of Malayan / Javan / Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) scales and claws. Mulhouse Zoo, France. Endemic to Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and other South-East Asian localities. Endangered due to hun...

Roland Seitre / Man displaying a pangolin skins at traditional chinese medicine market. Pangolin scales are believed to cure fever. This trade is now illegal. Sichuan, Chengdu, 1983.

Daniel Heuclin / Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi) close up of scales, Death Valley National Park, California, USA, controlled conditions

Daniel Heuclin / Western Whiptail Lizard (Aspidocelis tigris tigris) male, head portrait, Panamint mountains, California, USA, May, Controlled conditions.

Roland Seitre / Close up of the posterior spur on the shell of an African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys / Geochelone sulcata) Sahel desert, Ferlo North Reserve, Senegal, West Africa, Vulnerable species.

Roland Seitre / African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys / Geochelone sulcata) Sahel desert, Ferlo North Reserve, Senegal, West Africa, Vulnerable species.

Loic Poidevin / Nile / Madagascar crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) head profile portrait, Ravelobe Lake, Madagascar.

Sandesh Kadur / Lizard (Calotes grandisquamis) head portrait, Western Ghats, India

Rob Jordan / 2020VISION / Close up of scales of an Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) caught by Tweed Foundation scientists netting and tagging migratory fish for tracking, on the River Tweed, Berwickshire, Scotland, UK, September

John Cancalosi / Tropical / Yellow rat snake (Spilotes pullatus) Costa Rica

John Cancalosi / Tropical / Yellow rat snake (Spilotes pullatus) head, Costa Rica

John Cancalosi / Lyre snake (Trimorphodon biscutatus) portrait, Costa Rica

Piotr Naskrecki / Microhylid Frog (Choerophryne sp), a newly discovered species near mushrooms, Muller Range, Papua New Guinea

Piotr Naskrecki / Indonesian Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus dilophus) tail scales, Muller Range, Papua New Guinea

Pete Oxford / Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) in strike pose, Little St Simon's Island, Barrier Islands, Georgia, USA. Venomous pitviper, the heaviest venomous snake in the Americas and the la...

Pete Oxford / Corn snake (Elaphe guttata), or red rat snake, Little St Simon's Island, Barrier Islands, Georgia USA

Pete Oxford / Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) close up of skin detail, The Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve, Telfair County, Georgia USA, captive

Pete Oxford / Corn snake (Elaphe guttata), or red rat snake climbing tree, Little St Simon's Island, Barrier Islands, Georgia, USA

Pete Oxford / Corn snake (Elaphe guttata), or red rat snake climbing tree, close up of skin, Little St Simon's Island, Barrier Islands, Georgia, USA

Pete Oxford / Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) The Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve, Telfair County, Georgia, USA, threatened species, captive

Pete Oxford / Pigmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) close up of coiled snake, captive

Pete Oxford / Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) close up of cloaca, belly and tail scales, captive