Natural Flexible Dermal Armor

Fish, reptiles, and mammals can possess flexible dermal armor for protection. Here we seek to find the means by which Nature derives its protection by examining the scales from several fish ( Atractosteus spatula , Arapaima gigas , Polypterus senegalus, Morone saxatilis, Cyprinius carpio) , and osteoderms from armadillos, alligators, and leatherback turtles. Dermal armor has clearly been developed by convergent evolution in these different...