placoid scale

The development of denticles (toothlike skin projections) and teeth represents another specialization of evolutionary importance. The most primitive clupeiform fishes have an enormous number of dermal denticles (on the head and in the mouth), which have been replaced in evolutionarily more-advanced forms by teeth, which are larger and…

, sharks) have placoid scales, which are bony, spiny projections with an enamel-like covering. Ganoid scales, which are found on such fishes as gars and the bowfin, are similar to placoid scales but are covered with a peculiar enamel-like substance called ganoin. It is thought that true teeth…

Placoid scales (or denticles) are spiny, toothlike projections seen only in cartilaginous fishes. Ganoid scales, sometimes considered a modification of the placoid type, are chiefly bony but are covered with an enamel-like substance called ganoin. These rather thick scales, present in some primitive bony fishes,…