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A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. ... meaning a shell pod or husk. [1] Scales vary enormously in size, shape, structure, ...
Keeled scales of a colubrid snake (banded water snake; Nerodia fasciata). In zoology, a scale (Ancient Greek: λεπίς, romanized: lepís; Latin: squāma) is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection.
Cosmine was first described in the Osteolepiform Megalichthys hibberti by Williamson in 1849, in a purely descriptive, pre-Darwinian, non-evolutionary framework. [4] Goodrich [5] expanded on Williamson's descriptions, hypothesizing a transition from a monoodontode scale (like a chondryicthian placoid scale) to a complex polyodontode scale through fusion of discrete units.
Derived from placoid scales, they have a thick coat of enamel, but without the underlying layer of dentin. These scales cover the fish's body with little overlapping. They are typical of gar and bichirs. Cycloid scales are small, oval-shaped scales with growth rings like the rings of a tree. They lack enamel, dentin, and a vascular bone layer.
Fingerling – refers to a fish that has reached the stage where the fins can be extended and protective scales have covered the body. [4] At this stage, the fish is typically about the size of a human finger, [5] hence the name. Once reaching this stage, the fish can be considered a juvenile, and is usually active enough to move around a large ...
Aristotle (ca. 340 B.C.) may have been the first scientist to speculate on the use of hard parts of fishes to determine age, stating in Historica Animalium that “the age of a scaly fish may be told by the size and hardness of its scales.” [4] However, it was not until the development of the microscope that more detailed studies were performed on the structure of scales. [5]
The scales of fish provide protection from predators at the cost of adding stiffness and weight. [48] Fish scales are often highly reflective; this silvering provides camouflage in the open ocean. Because the water all around is the same colour, reflecting an image of the water offers near-invisibility. [49]
Meristics is an area of zoology and botany which relates to counting quantitative features of animals and plants, such as the number of fins or scales in fish.A meristic (countable trait) can be used to describe a particular species, or used to identify an unknown species.