This article is part of WikiProject Animal anatomy, an attempt to organise a detailed guide to all topics related to animal anatomy apart from human anatomy. To participate, you can edit the attached article, or contribute further at WikiProject Animal anatomy. This project is an offshoot of WikiProject AnimalsAnimal anatomyWikipedia:WikiProject Animal anatomyTemplate:WikiProject Animal anatomyAnimal anatomy articles
This article doesn't seem to cover the scales found on swordfish, which (as far as I know) do not fit into the normal categories of fish scales.
"Ichthyologists recognize four types of fish scale. The kosher variety of scales are cycloid (round) and ctenoid (comblike). The ganoid scale found on sturgeon, or the placoid scale of the shark are specifically excluded from the Biblical term kaskeses since they are not 'removable' scales without tearing the skin from the flesh. Even an educated layman would not see any similarity between the heavy bony plates of the sturgeon or the needle-like projections on the shark skin and the classic kosher scale of the whitefish or carp.
"In Fishery leaflet #531, U.S. Dept. of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Wash. D.C., it states 'swordfish during early juvenile stage of life (up to 8 inches long), have "scales" that are markedly specialized and rather unique. They are in the form of bony tubercules or expanded compressed platelike bodies. These scales are rough, having spinous projections at the surface and they do not overlap one another as the scales in most fish do. With growth the scales disappear and the adult fish including those sold commercially have no scales.'
Excerpted from a Jewish article on the kosher status of swordfish.
This page has so little information that I'd consider it a stub. If anyone could expand the definition of the types of scale, add references, and something on the function and Homology (biology) of scales that would be great. Ewjw07:57, 11 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I heard recently from a paleonthology teacher that tooth in fish evolved originally from scales and became later internalized in the mouth. Does somebody have sources for this? Dentren | Talk18:00, 3 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I see Fish, Reptile, and Arthropod scales on this list, but I see nothing about scales on birds and mammals. Many birds have scales on their feet, and some mammals (e.g, the Pangolin, armadillo, the scaly tails of rats, etc. --TangoFett (talk) 07:38, 7 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]