The rostral scale is projecting, upturned, recurved and keeled dorsally. The dorsal scale rows around midbody are usually weakly keeled. The head is thickly covered with keeled, imbricate scales. Dorsal scales weakly keeled, arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The dorsal scales are strongly and tubercularly keeled. The scales bordering the ventrals are smooth or weakly keeled. The dorsal scales are overlapping, strongly keeled and have apical pits. Usually, 21 rows of keeled dorsal scales occur midbody. The neck and dorsal vertebrae are not keeled. Snakes in the genus "Storeria" have keeled dorsal scales. Birds are the only vertebrates to have fused collarbones and a keeled breastbone. Inset in these bands were horizontal rows of larger oval, flat or keeled, scutes. The dorsal scales are heavily keeled, giving the snake a rough texture. It has keeled dorsal scales, and no loreal scale. The dorsal scales are strongly keeled; only the lowest row is smooth.