Placoid scales are found in the cartilaginous fishes sharks, rays, and chimaeras. They are also called dermal denticles. Placoid scales are structurally homologous with vertebrateteeth denticle translates to small tooth, having a central pulp cavity supplied with blood vessels, surrounded by a conical layer of dentine, all of which sits on top of a rectangular basal plate that rests on the dermis. The outermost layer is composed of vitrodentine, a largely inorganic enamel like substance. Placoid scales cannot grow in size, but rather more scales are added as the fish increases in size. Similar scales can also be found under the head of the denticle herring. The amount of scale coverage is much less in rays and chimaeras. The skin of sharks is entirely covered by placoid scales. The scales are supported by spines, which feel rough when stroked in a backward direction, but when flattened by the forward movement of water, create tiny vortices that reduce hydrodynamic drag, making swimming both more efficient as well as quieter compared to that of bony fishes. The rough, sandpaper like texture of shark and ray skin, coupled with its toughness, has led it to be valued as a source of rawhide leather, called shagreen. One of the many historical applications of shark shagreen was in making hand grips for swords. Unlike bony fish, sharks have a complicated dermal corset made of flexible collagenousfibers arranged as a helical network surrounding their body. The corset works as an outer skeleton, providing attachment for their swimming muscles and thus saving energy. Their dermal teeth give them hydrodynamic advantages, as the scales reduce the turbulence of swimming. Leptoid scaleseditLeptoid scales are found on higher order bony fish, the teleosts the more derivedclade of ray finned fishes. As the fish grow, scales are added in concentric layers. The scales are arranged so as to overlap in a head to tail configuration, like roof tiles, allowing a smoother flow of water over the body and thereby reducing drag. Leptoid scales come in two forms cycloid and ctenoid. Cycloid scaleseditCycloid circular scales. The cycloid scale of a carp has a smooth outer edge. Cycloid circular scales have a smooth texture and are uniform, with a smooth outer edge or margin. They are most common on fish with soft fin rays, such as salmon and carp. Ctenoid scaleseditCtenoid toothed scales. The ctenoid scale of a perch has a toothed outer edge at top of image. Three ctenoid scales from various locations of a perch were stained. Significant variation can be observed between the medial middle of the fish, dorsal top, and caudal tail end scales. The ctentii of each of the scales is labeled. Ctenoid toothed scales are like cycloid scales, with small teeth along their outer edges. They are usually found on fishes with spiny fin rays, such as the perch like fishes. The scales have a rough texture with a toothed outer or posterior edge featuring tiny teeth called ctenii. These scales contain almost no bone, being composed of a surface layer containing hydroxyapatite and calcium carbonate and a deeper layer composed mostly of collagen. The enamel of the other scale types is reduced to superficial ridges and ctenii. Ctenoid scales, similar to other epidermal structures, originate from placodes and distinctive cellular differentiation makes them exclusive from other structures that arise from the integument. Development starts near the caudal fin, along the lateral line of the fish. The development process begins with an accumulation of fibroblasts between the epidermis and dermis. Collagen fibrils begin to organize themselves in the dermal layer, which leads to the initiation of mineralization. Suspense Thriller Movies Moana there. The circumference of the scales grows first, followed by thickness when overlapping layers mineralize together. Ctenoid scales can be further subdivided into three types Crenate scales, where the margin of the scale bears indentations and projections. Spinoid scales, where the scale bears spines that are continuous with the scale itself. True ctenoid scales, where the spines on the scale are distinct structures. Both cycloid and ctenoid scales are overlapping, making them more flexible than cosmoid and ganoid scales. Unlike ganoid scales, they grow in size through additions to the margin. The scales of some species exhibit bands of uneven seasonal growth called annuli singular annulus. These bands can be used to age the fish. Most ray finned fishes have ctenoid scales. Some species of flatfishes have ctenoid scales on the eyed side and cycloid scales on the blind side, while other species have ctenoid scales in males and cycloid scales in females. Ganoid scaleseditGanoid scales are found in the sturgeons, paddlefishes, gars, bowfin, and bichirs. They are derived from cosmoid scales, with a layer of dentine in the place of cosmine, and a layer of inorganic bone salt called ganoine in place of vitrodentine. Most are diamond shaped and connected by peg and socket joints. They are usually thick and have a minimal amount of overlap as compared to other scales. In sturgeons, the scales are greatly enlarged into armour plates along the sides and back, while in the bowfin the scales are greatly reduced in thickness to resemble cycloid scales see above. Elasmoid scaleseditElasmoid scales are thin, imbricated scales composed of a layer of dense, lamellar bone called isopedine, above which is a layer of tubercles usually composed of bone, as in Eusthenopteron. The layer of dentine that was present in the first sarcopterygians is usually reduced, as in the extant coelacanth, or entirely absent, as in extant lungfish and in the Devonian Eusthenopteron. Elasmoid scales have appeared several times over the course of fish evolution. They are present in some lobe finned fishes coelacanths, all extant and some extinct lungfishes, some tetrapodomorphs like Eusthenopteron, amiids, and teleosts, whose cycloid and ctenoid scales represent the least mineralized elasmoid scales. Cosmoid scaleseditCosmoid scales are found in several ancient lobe finned fishes, including some of the earliest lungfishes, and were probably derived from a fusion of placoid scales. They are composed of a layer of dense, lamellar bone called isopedine, above which is a layer of spongy bone supplied with blood vessels.