Types of Scales

in Fishes
 Scale
• A scale is a small rigid plate that
grows out of an animal
an  's skin to
provide protection.

• Generally classified as part of an

organism's integumentary system.
• The study of scales is
called Squamatology .
 Development &
Location
• Produced in the mesoderm.
• Located between the epidermis and the
underlying tissues.
• Genes responsible for the development of
scales in fish are same that result in hair
and tooth development in mammals.
• They usually grow on a fish in
overlapping plates, with the free end
of the scale pointed towards the tail.
 Functions of
Scales
• Provide external protection to its body as scales
are tough & slippery.
• Help to protect a fish from scrapes, parasites
and other external injuries.
• Because they are all attached at only one
point, they provide flexibility so that the
scales can slide over each other as the
fish’s body bends while swimming.
 Types of Scales
• There are four different types of fish
scales.
1. Cosmoid scales
2. Ganoid scales
3. Placoid scales
4. Leptoid scales
• Cycloid scales
• Ctenoid scales
• The structure and configuration of scales
can be used to determine the species from
which they came.
• The type of scale will affect the behavior of
a fish:
• Larger, heavier scales providing more
protection but restricting movement .
• Smaller, lighter scales offering more
freedom of movement but less protection.
1.Placoid Scales
• Also called denticles, are similar in structure
to teeth.

• Found on sharks, skates and rays.

• Formed of a rectangular base plate that is

embedded within the skin of the fish.

• The interior of the scale is a pulp that receives

blood from the fish's vascular system, while the
outside is made of an enamel-like substance
called vitrodentine.
• Placoids have a sharp ridge down the
center of the scale made of vitrodentine .
• The enamel ridge is called
an ectodermal cap , and this is important
because without this enamel cap the
sharks could not feed.
• Placoids do not grow with the fish. As a
shark gets larger it grows new scales to fill
in the gaps between the scales. 
2. Cosmoid Scales
• Very rare scale type, but no doubt common in
extinct species Crossopterygians , is the
cosmoid scale. 
• Limited today to the primitive lobefins
and lungfish.
• Cosmoid scales evolved from placoid scales
fusing together.
• This is because cosmoid scales have two base
plates and similar external spines composed of
vitrodentine.
• Inner layer of the
scale is made
of lamellar bone.

• On top of this lies a

layer of spongy
or vascular bone and
then a layer
of dentine-like
material
called cosmine.
• These scales grow
along with the fish.
3. Ganoid Scales
• These can be found
on gars, bichirs and
reed fishes.
• Rare among modern
fish.
• They are flat, basal-
looking scales.
• What’s unusual about
these scales is that
they do not overlap
but instead fit together
like pieces of a jigsaw
puzzle.
• They have a bony base layer similar to that of
cosmoid scales. Indeed, ganoid scales are
modified cosmoid scales.

• However, they differ in that their outer layer is

made of an inorganic bone salt called ganoine
and that they are diamond-shaped and
interconnected.

• Between ganoid scales are peg-and-socket

joints that articulate.
• They act like armor to form a nearly
impenetrable barrier to predators.

• They also grow with the fish, not only

in length, but in width and thickness
as well.
 4. Leptoid scales
• Found on higher-order bony fish.
• As they grow they add concentric layers. 
• The two types are often grouped
together simply as "bony-ridged"
scales.
• They come in two forms:
1. Cycloid Scales
2. Ctenoid Scales
Cycloid Scales
• Cycloid and ctenoid
scales have different
shapes but the same
composition and
positioning.
• The vast majority of
bony fish have cycloid,
or round scales.
• These have a smooth
outer edge and are most
common on fish with soft
fin rays such
as salmon and carp.
• These have two basic parts;

1. The inner solid structure made

out of bone.
2. An outer collagen layer.
• Scales are not
shed as the fish
ages, but grow
with the animal.

• The result of this,

is that a fish can
be aged by
counting the
growth rings.
• Herring and other groups of bony fish
have large cycloid scales that fall off
very easily. Skin structures that are
shed easily are known as deciduous
scales .
Ctenoid scales
• They have a toothed
outer edge (exposed
part), spiny or have
comb-like ridges.
• Usually found on fish
with spiny fin rays,
such
as bass  and crappie .
• These have tiny teeth-
like protrusions called
ctenii, giving them a
rougher texture.
 Scute Scale
 

• Another less common, type of scale is

the scute , which is:
• An external shield-like bony plate, or
• A modified, thickened scale that often
is keeled or spiny.
• Some fish, such as pinecone fish, are
completely or partially covered in
scutes.
 Scaleless Fish
• Some groups of fish lack scales
completely, including gobies and toadfish.
• Instead, these fish are covered in a
coating of slime which will protect the fish
from injury and ectoparasites.
• The slime layer may serve the added
function of making them especially hard
for a predator to grab hold of.
 References
• www.wikipedia.org
• www.australianmuseum.net
• www.newton.dep
• www.ehow.com
• www.earthlife.net
• web.mac.com