# Brille

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{{short description|Part of the anatomy of the eye in some animals}}
{{For|the record label|Brille Records}}
[[Image:AB124 Brille.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Clouded ''brille'' of a colubrid nearing [moulting](/source/moulting)]]
thumb|250px|right|Clear ''brille'' of the same snake - 20 days earlier
[[File:Ormskinn (Natrix natrix) skannat.jpg|thumb|{{center|Exuvia of grass snake ''[Natrix natrix](/source/Natrix_natrix)'', showing brille scales}}]]
The '''brille''' (also called the '''ocular scale''', '''eye cap''' or '''spectacle''') is the layer of transparent, immovable disc-shaped skin or scale covering the eyes of some animals for protection, especially in animals without eyelids. In squamate reptiles both the [nictitating membrane](/source/nictitating_membrane) and the eyelids have been suggested as the evolutionary origin of the brille, but embryonic studies supports the fusion of the dorsal and ventral eyelids.<ref>[https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.22861 Through the Looking Glass: The Spectacle in Gymnophthalmid Lizards]</ref> Brille means "spectacles" or "[glasses](/source/glasses)" in German, Norwegian, and Danish.

In snakes, there are no eyelids and the brille is clear and cannot be distinguished, except when the animal is becoming ready for [ecdysis](/source/ecdysis). At that time, it becomes cloudy and is visible as a cover over the eye. When the snake moults, the brille is also shed, generally inside out, as part of its skin. The brilles protect their eyes from dust and dirt and give them a "glassy-eyed" blank appearance.<ref name="encyc">{{citation
 | title = Encyclopedia of Animals (Milk snake entry)
 | journal = EBSCO Animals
 | publisher = EBSCO Publishing
 | url = http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ani&AN=9500200390&site=ehost-live
}}</ref>

[Snake](/source/Snake)s, [flap-footed lizard](/source/flap-footed_lizard)s, [night lizard](/source/night_lizard)s, and some [skink](/source/skink)s have brilles. All [gecko](/source/gecko)s except those in the subfamily [Eublepharinae](/source/Eublepharinae) (eyelid geckos) possess brilles.

Some groups of [bony fish](/source/Osteichthyes) have a transparent eyelid known as the [adipose eyelid](/source/adipose_eyelid).<ref>{{cite web |first=Rainer |last=Froese |url=http://www.fishbase.us/glossary/Glossary.php?q=adipose+eyelid |title=Adipose eyelid |accessdate=2011-12-11 |work=FishBase Glossary}}</ref> Some reptiles, mammals and birds have a translucent third eyelid that moves horizontally across the eye called the [nictitating membrane](/source/nictitating_membrane).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nictitating+membrane|title=Nictiiating membrane|last=Anon|work=The Free Dictionary|publisher=Farlex Inc|accessdate=3 November 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Ocular scales](/source/Ocular_scales)
* [Snake scales](/source/Snake_scales)

==References==
{{reflist}}
* ''Keeping and Breeding Geckos'', Hermann Seufer, 1991.

Category:Snake scales

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Brille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brille) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brille?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.