Meanings
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1
noun
a small horny plate or scale on a bird's foot or toe
The researcher counted each scutella along the upper surface of the pigeon's toe.
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2
noun
a small shield-shaped plate or structure in an animal or plant
Under magnification, the scutella appeared as a row of overlapping protective plates.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From New Latin scutella, a small shield-shaped structure, related to Latin scutum, 'shield.' Scientific English has used both scutella as a singular with scutellae as its plural and scutellum with scutella as its plural; Darwin's glossary defines scutellae as the horny plates covering birds' feet.