Design of precise functional surfaces is essential for many futureapplications. In the technological realm, the accumulated experience with theconstruction of such surfaces is not sufficient. Nature provides many examplesof dynamic surfaces worthy of study and adoption, at least as a concept, withinhuman engineering. In this work, we probe load-bearing features of the ventralskin of snake surfaces. We examine the structure of two snake species thatmainly move by rectilinear locomotion. These are Python regius (pythonidae) andBittis gabonica (Vipridae). To this end, we focus on the load bearingcharacteristics of the ventral skin surface (i.e. the Rk family of parameters).Therefore, we draw detailed comparison between the reptilian surfaces and twosets of technological data. The first set pertains to an actual commercialcylinder liner, whereas, the second set is a summary of recommended surfacefinish metrological values for several commercial cylinder liner manufacturers.The results highlight several similarities between the two types of surfaces.In particular, we show that there is a striking correspondence between thesense of texture engineering within both surfaces (although that theirconstruction evolved along entirely different paths). We also show thatreptilian surfaces manifest a high degree of specialization with respect tohabitat constraints on wear resistance and adhesive effects.
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