Literature Review

For this week’s post, the focus of the discussion will be on several features that was mentioned in the previous post and more in-depth understanding regarding these features.

Skin
As mentioned in previous post, crocodile has a unique scale that is different from other reptiles. This bony scale layer is known as scute and can be found along the crocodile’s back. Different from the scale found on snakes or lizards, scutes are formed in the lower vascular layer of the skin and the epidermal element is only the top layer. Underneath the epidermal element lies the osteoderms layer. Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales and in many case, functions as defensive armor. In crocodile, osteoderms also functions as heat exchangers, allowing these large reptiles to cool down or heat up rapidly.


The scute layer helps prevent water loss which allows crocodile to stay on the land for longer period of time. This is due to the structure of the scute, which is made up of keratin, an insoluble protein that helps waterproof the skin. Keratin can also be found in many other animals, but the most common example would be human’s hair. Human’s hair is basically made up of keratin, which is why it is waterproof.  

Scales/ Bumps on crocodile’s face
The scales found on the face or covering the head of the crocodile can be seen different from the scale on the rest of the body as it is relatively thinner. Tiny bumps as shown in figure below can be seen and these bumps are sensory pits or integumentary sensory organs (ISO). These ISOs helps crocodile gather information about the surrounding and ISOs as a sensory organ can function for water disturbance detection (track prey or avoid predator), mating, reproduction and osmo-regulation. ISO’s structure is made up of many nerves and tissues as well as mechanoreceptors that allows for sensitivity to vibration and pressure. This helps crocodile to detect vibration underwater when there are movement nearby which allows them to both hunt prey and escape from predator. These sensory organs are capable of vibration detection of up to 35Hz and have a response time of less than 100 milliseconds.





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