Most fish have scales covering their skin. Sharks and rays have placoid scales, lungfishes and some fossil fish have cosmoid scales, bichirs, bowfins, paddle fishes, gars, and sturgeons have ganoid scales, and the majority of bony fish have cycloid and ctenoid scales. Scales or scutes are also present on reptilian skin. The epidermis forms scales, which are composed of keratin. They can be elaborately modified, like in snakes, or ossified or tubercular, like in lizards.
Most fish have scales covering their skin. Sharks and rays have placoid scales, lungfishes and some fossil fish have cosmoid scales, bichirs, bowfins, paddle fishes, gars, and sturgeons have ganoid scales, and the majority of bony fish have cycloid and ctenoid scales. Scales or scutes are also present on reptilian skin. The epidermis forms scales, which are composed of keratin. They can be elaborately modified, like in snakes, or ossified or tubercular, like in lizards.