scute

Cartilaginous

If you’ve ever eaten a fish fillet, you’ve probably had the ‘pleasure’ of picking out fish bones from your meal.  While most fish are, indeed, bony (superclass: Osteichthyes), certain lineages of fish have cartilaginous skeletons, meaning that their skeletal structure is composed of cartilage, like a human ear or nose, rather than bone.  Elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, … [Read more…]

Scute

A scute is an external bony plate on the surface of a fish.  Scutes serve a protective function, acting as a body armor for fish against environmental abrasions and even predation. In some fishes, such as Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), scutes are a row of scales modified into sharp, protective plates.  In other fishes, like Shovelnose … [Read more…]