The spectacle of the ball python (<i>Python regius</i>): A morphological description

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cover illustration . Snakes have no moveable eyelids. Instead, the eyelids remain fused in the embryonic state to create the spectacle, a transparent structure that covers and protects the eye. In this issue of the Journal of Morphology, Da Silva et al. (pp. 489–496 10.1002/jmor.20230 ) provide a detailed account on the histology and ultrastructure of the eye of ball pythons ( Python regius ). The cover image shows the head of a live ball python (image: J.M. Starck 2005).