What is Scute?
[[File:Alligator foot detail.jpg|thumb|right|Scutes on an [[alligator]] foot]] A '''scute''' is a bony external plate or [[Scale (zoology)|scale]], as on the shell of a [[turtle]], the skin of [[crocodiles]] or the feet of some [[birds]]. ==Properties== Scutes are similar to [[scale (zoology)|scales]] and serve the same function. Unlike the scales of fish and [[snake]]s, which are formed from the [[epidermis]], scutes are formed in the lower vascular layer of the skin and the epidermal element is only the top surface. Forming in the living [[dermis]], the scutes produce a [[Horn (anatomy)|horny]] outer layer, that is superficially similar to that of scales. The dermal base may contain [[bone]] and produce [[wikt:armour|dermal armour]]. Scutes with a bony base are properly called '''osteoderms'''. Dermal scutes are also found in the feet of birds and tails of some [[mammals]], and are believed to be the primitive form of dermal armour in reptiles. The term is also used to describe the heavy armour of the [[armadillo]] and the extinct [[glyptodon]], and is occasionally used as an alternative to scales in describing snakes or certain fish, such as [[sturgeon]]. [[Category:Animal anatomy]] [[Category:Vertebrates]]