Snake Skeleton - Vestigial Limbs

Vestigial Limbs

No living snake shows any remains of the pectoral arch, but remains of the pelvis are found in:

• Boas and Pythons: a long ilium, attached to the lower branch of the first bifurcate transverse process of the lumbar vertebrae, bearing three short bones, the longest of which, regarded as the femur, terminates in a claw-like pelvic spur which usually appears externally on each side of the cloaca.
• Leptotyphlopidae: ilium, pubis, and ischium, and rudimentary femur, the ischium forming a ventral symphysis.
• Aniliidae
• Typhlopidae: a single bone on each side.