Scale (zoology)
small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin
In zoology, a scale (Ancient Greek: λεπίς, romanized: lepís; Latin: squāma) is a small rigid plate made out of keratin that grows out of vertebrate animals' skin to provide protection. In lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, made out of chitin instead of keratin, and provide coloration. Scales are quite common and have evolved multiple times through convergent evolution, with varying structure and function.
Scales are generally classified as part of an organism's integumentary system. There are various types of scales according to the shape and class of an animal.
Fish scales
Fish scales are dermally derived, specifically in the mesoderm. This fact distinguishes them from reptile scales paleontologically.
Genetically, the same genes involved in tooth and hair development in mammals are also involved in scale development.
Cosmoid scales
True cosmoid scales can only be found on the Sarcopterygians. The inner layer of the scale is made of lamellar bone.
“Scale (zoology)” enters the record as small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Scale, zoology and small can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Scale (zoology)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Scale, zoology and small provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q188488. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Scale (zoology)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.