COMPANA
via gill epithelium and other tissues
Projection
● Primary role of the integument
● Dermal armors protects the internal
organs from mechanical injury
● Glands secrete slimy or noxious
substances
● Pigments provide protective
coloration
● Serves as barrier to the rays of the
sun
● Claws, horns, spiny protuberances
and needles give protection
Extenoception
● Protective in its most primitive state
● Naked nerve endings are stimulated
when foreign
● Objects contact the skin
➢ The only role of cutaneous
receptors in agnathans
● More complex receptors are found in
other fishes and tetrapods and
highly used for survival
Respiration
● Supplements gills and lungs of many
amphibians (aquatic urodeles)
● Plethodontid salamander rely its
respiration entirely on the skin (they
don’t have gills or lungs)
● Scales and cornified epithelium are
not conducive for cutaneous
respiration
Excretion
● CO2 excretion in some aquatic
amphibians
● Sweat glands are supplementary to
excrete nitrogenous wastes
● Ammonia in fishes is easily diffused
exposed to water
Thermoregulation
● Function of the skin of endotherms
(birds and mammals)
● Fur and feather insulate against cold
● Sweat cools by evaporation
● Dilation of blood vessels within the
dermis increases heat loss by
radiation
Locomotion
● Adhesive pads and claws assist in
climbing
● Scutes assist in slithering
● Feathers provide airfoil
● Webbbed feet for those that wade
water
● Webbed wings in bats enable them
to fly
Nourishment
● Mucus secreted in some teleosts
provide nutrition to hatchlings
● Mammary glands provide
nourishment to the young
Pheromones and skin coloration
● Serves as species identification or
serves as alarm
● Elaborate colorations help during
breeding season
● Can be used as protection
Integument
● Forms the interface between the
animal’s internal environment and
the outside world
● Components:
➢ Epithelial, connective
adipose and smooth muscle
tissues
 ➢ Blood vessels
➢ Glands
➢ Sensory receptors
➢ Nerves
➢ Other structures
Epidermis
● Stratified epithelium which
developed from embryonic ectoderm
● Rests on a basement membrane
made up of delicate fibrils and
overlies the dermis
● Stratum germinativum consists of 1
to 2 mitotically active, cuboidal cell
layers located above the basement
membrane
➢ Cells move toward the body
surface to differentiate and
are eventually sloughed off
● Keratin
➢ Water-insoluble, horny
protein that may fill the cells
and replace other organelles
➢ Best developed in terrestrial
vertebrates → keratin-filled
cells from the stratum
corneum
● Fishes and amphibians – thin layer
of epidermis
● Reptiles and mammals – thick layer
of epidermis
● Two types of covering:
➢ Aquatic craniates – thin coat
of mucus
➢ Terrestrial craniates –
water-impervious cornified
cells
● Gland cells – epidermal in origin bit
invade the dermis
➢ Aquatic craniates –
predominantly unicellular
➢ Terrestrial craniates – mostly
multicellular
Dermis
● Develops from mesenchymal cells
which are mostly derived from
mesodermal dermatome of somites
● Basic component is collagen and
elastic fibers embedded in
proteoglycans and other
macromolecules which holds other
component in place and provide
tensile strength

● Other components:
➢ Blood vessels small nerves
and pigment cells
➢ Lymphatics
➢ Naked and encapsulated
exteroceptors
➢ Bases of multicellular glands
➢ Bases of hairs or feathers
and their erector muscles

● Dermis is thicker than the epidermis

in mature skin and consists of two
layer:
➢ Stratum laxum
➢ Stratum compactum
Skin derivatives
● Teeth, bony and horny scales,
feathers and hair develop
➢ Result of
epithelial-mesenchymal
interactions between the
dermis and epidermis via
neural crest cell migration
● Glands, feathers, hair and other
keratinized structures
➢ Composed of epidermal cells
in which some parts invade
the underlying dermis
● Superficial bones are dermal
derivatives
● Teeth and bony scales are of
epidermal and dermal products
Chromatophores
● Cells that contain pigments found in
all vertebrates except albinos
● Develop from neural crests and are
located in the upper part of the
dermis in fishes, amphibians, and
reptiles
● They penetrate and are located in
the epidermis of birds and mammals
Melanophores
● Star-shaped, long, branching cells
containing melanin
● Melanin granules may either be
black, brown, or more yellow and
reddish
➢ Synthesized and contained
within cellular organelles
called melanosomes
● Melanin in birds and mammals
transferred to feather, hair, and other
epidermal derivatives
● Melanosomes in anamniotes and
reptiles migrate into processes of the
melanophores (concentrating the
color)
Other Pigment Secreting Cells
● Iridophores or guanophores
➢ Contain crystalline
onemochromes(?) from
guanine
➢ Generate iridescent colors
because of the diffraction of
light within the stacked plates
● Leucophores
➢ Utilize crystalline purines(?)
(often guanine) to reflect light
➢ Produce reflective white hues
● Xanthophores
➢ Containing yellow pigments
composed of pteridines
● Erythrophores
➢ Contain reddish pigments
composed of carotenoids
● Vesicles containing pteridine and
carotenoids are sometimes found in
the same cell
Dermal Chromatophore Unit
● Body appears:
➢ Darker if the melanin is well
dispersed within the
processes of melanophore
overlying the iridophore
➢ Yellowish if pigment is well
dispersed in the xanthophore
Turacoverdin and Turacin
● Turacoverdin
➢ Unique copper uroporphyrin
pigment responsible for the
bright green coloration of
several birds of the family
Musophagidae, most notably
the turaco
➢ The only true green pigments
found in birds
● Turacin
➢ Naturally occurring red
pigment
➢ Found only in the bird family
Musophagidae, the turacos
Important Roles of Skin Coloration
● Can be concealing or cryptic helping
an animal hide from predators or
enable a predator to stalk a prey
● Can be aposemtaic where it
advetises the presence of
dangerous, venomous or distasteful
species
● Also used for species recognition,
establishment of territories, courtship
and other types of communication
● Also help reptiles thermoregulate
Epidermis
● Intehument of fishes is similar in its
basic structure
● Epidermis is relatively thin, and most
cells are alive
● Surface cells are covered with
microridges that increase the
surface area for exchange between
the animal and its environment
● Keratin may be deposited in limited
areas such as horny teeth of
cyclostomes and tubercle that
develop in many fishes duting
mating season
Unicellualr Epidermal Glands: Goblet
Cells
● Secrete only mucus
● Forms a mucous cuticle and a
generally slimy surface together with
secretions of surface cells
➢ Reduce water exchanges
between the fish and its
environment and helps the
excretory system maintains a
stable internal environment
● Protects thebody from bacterial
invasion and attachment of
ectoparasites
Unicellular Epidermal Glands: Granular
Cells
● Secrets mucus and additional
ingredients mostly of unknown
functions
● Alkaloids which are products of
granular cells are not common
● Some conatns an alarm substance
is released when the fish is injured
and the skin is ruptured
➢ Acts as a pheremone and
triggers a fight reaction in
nearby membranes of the
species
Multicellualr Epidermal Glands
● Relatively uncommon in fishes
● Hagfishes have large slime glands
● Some teleosts have poison glands
that produce toxic materials and are
often associated with fin spines
Photophores
● Light-emitting glands in deep-sea
teleosts
● Upper part of the gland consists of
modified mucous cells acting as
magnifying kens and lower parts
contains are light-emitting cells
● Cells below are in contact with
melanophores and in bood cells
which is the source of raw materials
➢ Lucidferase + luciferin = light
Epidermis of Agnathans
● Highly mitotic, multi-layered
epidermis with unicellular mucous
glands
● No keratinized or cornified layer
● Horny denticles on buccal funnel or
teeth are the only keratinized
structures
Epidermis of Cartilaginous Fishes
● Multi-layered than agnathans
● Not as much unicellular glands
except in chimeras
● Localized glands:
➢ Goblet cells – sting ray
➢ Multicellular glands – male
claspers
● Photophores in the dermis are
modified epidermal glands that lost
connection with the epidermis
Epidermis of Bony Fishes
● Top layer composed of stratified
epidermal cells that do not undergo
keratinization
● Lowermost layer is the basal layer
● Glands are mostly unicellular
(mucous coat on skin) with few
multicellular and granular glands
● Photphores for recognition or
warning
Dermis
● Collagen fibers are generally more
regularly arranged than of other
vertebrates
● Develop in layer that spiral around
the body in approximately 45 angle t
the longitudinal axis with adjacent
layers perpendicular to each other
● Fiber arrangement strengthens the
skin so that the body shape is
maintained during swimming
● Acts as exotendon transmitting
muscular force
Dermal Scales
● Lampreys and hagfish lack scales
● Scales evolved separately in the
cartilaginous and bony fishes
● Types:
➢ Placoud scales
➢ Cosmoid
➢ Ganoid
➢ Elasmoid
● Ganoid and Elasmoid
➢ Scales of bony fishes with
only two layers, (1) calcified
and (2) fibrous
Placoid Scales
● Scales of sharks and rays
 ● Made of bone and resemble teeth
● Do not grow with the animal
● They are of a single size
● Have a soft central area (the pulp), a
middle layer of dentine and a hard
outer layer of enamel
● When the animal grows, space
opens up and new denticles grow to
fill
● Do not overlap as do the scales of
bony fishes
● Most sharks have a complete
covering of denticles arranged ina
repeating diamond pattern
● Species that are doesoventrally
flattened such as the skates and
rays tend to have many fever
denticles
Cosmoid Scales
● Found only on the Coelacanths
(Latimeria sp.) or as a fossils
● Scales of bony fish with 4 layers:
➢ (1) dense bone,
➢ (2) spongy bone,
➢ (3) dentine and
➢ (4) enamel
Gonoid Scales
● Derived from cosmoid scales
● Found on Bichirs, Gars, and
Sturgeons
● Hard solid scales
Elasmoid Scale
● Most common form of scales
● Thin plate that you find on most
fishes
● Two types of elasmoid scales:
➢ Ctenoid – have a set of fine
teeth along posterior edge,
and
➢ Cycloid – simply rounded on
the outher/ posterior edge
● Sea perches (Epinephelus sp.) –
have mostly ctenoid scales above
the lateral line and cycloid below
● Dabs (Limanda sp.) – have ctenoid
scales on the upper coloured
surface and cycloid scales on the
lower white surface
Scales of modern fish
● Embedded in the dermis and are
covered entirely by the epidermis
● Grow as the fish grow
● Scales patterns show how old a fish
is and also how many times it has
spawned and if it has been seriously
ill
Epidermis
● Skin of amphibians relatively thin but
epidermal cells synthesize keratin
● As it accumulates, cells die and the
stratum comeum is formed
➢ Seldom more than 1 to 2
layers thick to allow
cutaneous respiration
➢ Desquamated periodically
and is harmonally controlled
➢ Not sloughed off in toads and
they just continually pile up
● Highly granular
➢ Glands aid in survival of
land-adalted anurans
● Cornified appendages are rare
Epidermal Glands
● Mostly multicellular mucus or
granular glands
● Tailed aquatic amphibians have the
most number of multicellular glands
➢ Secretions keep the skin
moist when they are on land

● Glands on digits serves as holdfasts

in trees or glands in thumbpads
during breeding season serves as
restraint for females