Article: Scute

The scutes

A scute or scutum (Latin scutum, plural: scuta "shield") is a horny, chitinous, or bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle, the underside of a snake, or the skin of crocodiles. They are similar to scales, but unlike scales, they are derived from the epidermis. The term is also used to describe the scales of some armored mammals, such as the armadillo and the extinct glyptodon.

The turtle's scutes in the carapace are as follows: nuchal scute, neural or vertebral or central scute, marginal scute, and pygal or supracaudal scute. Those in the plastron are: epiplastron, entoplastron, hyoplastron, and hypoplastron.

Scutes are also a type of osteoderm.

The term "scutum" is also used in insect anatomy, as an alternative name for the anterior portion of the mesonotum (and, technically, the metanotum, though rarely applied in that context).

See also

• Osteoderms