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11 results for “dermal armour”
Data for: The first description of dermal armour in snakes
<p>Osteoderms, also called dermal armour, often play a role in predator defence. The presence of osteoderms is highly irregularly distributed across the squamate phylogeny and they have not been found in snakes. In this study, we searched for candidate snake species that would benefit from such armour to protect their body, focusing primarily on fossorial species with defensive tail displays. We examined the tail morphology of 27 snake species from different families using micro-computed tomography (µCT) and micro-radiography. We discovered dermal armour in four species of sand boas (Erycidae) that also feature enlarged and highly modified caudal vertebrae. This is the first description of dermal armour in snakes. Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that osteoderms likely evolved once or multiple times in Erycidae. We have not found osteoderms in any other examined snake species. Nevertheless, similar structures are known from unrelated squamate clades, such as gerrhosaurids and geckos. This supports the idea of underlying deep developmental homology. We propose the hypothesis that osteoderms protect sand boas like the "brigandine armour" of medieval warriors. We interpret it as another component of the sand boas' rich defence strategy.</p>
Data for: The first description of dermal armour in snakes
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Extended Data Fig. 5 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Extended Data Fig. 5 | Thin section photomicrograph (plane-polarized light) showing detail of the structural fibres in the upper osteodermal part of the rod. Structural fibre bundles intersect roughly perpendicular to each other. The opaque cast in the top half of the image is probably diagenetic alteration.
Extended Data Fig. 4 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Extended Data Fig. 4 | Histological thin-section (plane polarized light) showing detail of the spine. A vascular channel can be observed in the top left of the image. The woven bone matrix of the cortex is dominated by primary osteons. Scattered secondary osteons can be observed in the mid and inner cortex. Large resorption cavities lined with lamellar bone can be observed in the trabecular bone of the core (top right). Red arrows indicate growth (=resting) lines.
Extended Data Fig. 3 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Extended Data Fig. 3 | The osteoderm and rib parts of the rod were segmented using the following procedure. a, a section of the specimen was identified for focus; b, longitudinal sections of the specimen were examined in XCT data; c, the boundary between the osteoderm and the rib was identified on longitudinal sections; d, the data were labelled.
Extended Data Fig. 2 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Extended Data Fig. 2 | XCT-scan image of a longitudinal cross-section through NHMUK PV R37412. White ovals highlight areas where it is possible to see the continuity of cortical and trabecular bone from the spikes to the rod.
Extended Data Fig. 1 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Extended Data Fig. 1 | Translucent XCT reconstruction of NHMUK PV R37412, Spicomellus afer. Red shading indicates a grainy cement or fill used to consolidate the specimen. a, lateral and b, dorsal view. Also see Supplementary video.
Fig. 1 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Fig. 1 | Morphology and histology of Spicomellus afer, NHMUK PV R37412. a–d, Photographs (a,b) and 3D model produced from XCT scanning (c,d) showing the specimen in anterior/posterior (a,c) and dorsal (b,d) views. Red lines on a and b indicate where the specimen was sectioned for histological analysis. Red colouration on c and d indicates a cement used to consolidate the specimen. e–g, Thin-section photographs of the rod: full section of the rod (e) (see Fig. 2a for larger version); histological section through the dorsal osteodermal part of the rod (f) showing structural fibre bundles in an orthogonal 'plywood-like' arrangement; histological section through the rib part of the rod (g) showing heavily remodelled cortical bone. Yellow box in e indicates the position of f, blue box indicates the position of g. h, Histological section from the sacral shield of NHMUK PV R9293, an indeterminate ankylosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Group of the UK showing fibre bundles arranged in a pattern similar to that of the osteoderm in Spicomellus (f). i, Histological section from the rib of NHMUK PV R36643, an unnamed ankylosaur from the Callovian Oxford Clay Formation of the UK showing well-vascularized, remodelled cortical bone similar to that of the rib section of Spicomellus (g).
Fig. 2 in Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur
Fig. 2 | Details of the histology of Spicomellus afer, NHMUK PV R37142. a,c, Thin-section photographs of the fused rib and osteoderm. The darker region at the top of the image in a and to the top left of the image in c bears the histological characteristics of an osteoderm, while the lighter region below bears histological characteristics of the rib. A strip of structural fibres extending across this interface can be observed in c. b, Thin-section photograph of the spine of NHMUK PV R37142 S. afer showing a cortex of woven bone and an inner core of highly vascularized trabecular bone. d, A section of NHMUK PV R37142 S. afer with the osteoderm and rib sections segmented separately so the morphology of each can be seen. The osteoderm is in blue, while the rib is shown in white.
Data from: Proximate causes of variation in dermal armour: insights from armadillo lizards
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Insights into the evolution of dermal armour: osteoderms in a mammal, the spiny mouse
GEO Series GSE224007. Acomys cahirinus. 12 samples. Type: Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing.
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