Canthus (snake)

In snakes, the canthus, or "canthus rostralis",Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. "The Dangerous Snakes of Africa". Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.] is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the side of the head between the eye and the snout.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. "True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers". Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.] More specifically, between the supraocular scale and the rostral scale. It is defined as a sharp ridge in many viperids, but is rounded in most rattlesnakes, for example.Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.]

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