Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The individual scutes as shown above have specific names and are generally consistent across the various species of turtles. Terrestrial tortoises do not shed their scutes. New scutes grow by the addition of keratin layers to the base of each scute. Aquatic chelonii shed individual scutes.
Scutes on an alligator foot A scute ( / s k j uː t / ⓘ ) or scutum ( Latin : scutum ; plural: scuta " shield ") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle , the skin of crocodilians , and the feet of birds .
Scutes on a crocodile. Reptile skin is covered with scutes or scales which, along with many other characteristics, distinguish reptiles from animals of other classes. They are made of alpha and beta-keratin and are formed from the epidermis (contrary to fish, in which the scales are formed from the dermis).
Typically, a turtle has 38 scutes on the carapace and 16 on the plastron, giving them 54 in total. Carapace scutes are divided into "marginals" around the margin and "vertebrals" over the vertebral column, though the scute that overlays the neck is called the "cervical". "Pleurals" are present between the marginals and vertebrals. [20]
Typically, 11 or 12 pairs of marginal scutes rim the carapace. [8] Five vertebral scutes run down the carapace's midline, while five pairs of costal scutes border them. [21] The nuchal scute is located at the base of the head. [21] The carapace connects to the plastron by three pairs of inframarginal scutes forming the bridge of the shell. [21]
It is theorized that these scutes are most likely modified osteoderms that evolved over time to become the protective shell that we see today. [9] The difference between scutes and scales is that scutes actually form in the lower, vascularized dermis, with the epidermal layer creating only the top surface. Scales on the other hand, form in the ...
Snake scales may be modified to form fringes, as in the case of the eyelash bush viper, Atheris ceratophora, or rattles as in the case of the rattlesnakes of North America. [ 8 ] Certain primitive snakes such as boas , pythons and certain advanced snakes such as vipers have small scales arranged irregularly on the head.
Tortoiseshell was widely used from ancient times in the North and in Asia, until the trade was banned in 2014. It was used, normally in thin slices or pieces, in the manufacture of a wide variety of items such as combs, small boxes and frames, inlays in furniture (known as Boulle work carried out by André-Charles Boulle), and other items: frames for spectacles, guitar picks and knitting needles.