The Scale Microarchitecture of Sphenodon punctatus

The microarchitecture of the scale surfaces of Sphenodon punctatus was examined by scanning electron microscopy and compared with the morphologies described for a variety of lizards. The scale surfaces of Sphenodon lack ornamentation, and the epidermal cells have a laminar or lamellate arrangement in which the distal border of one cell overlaps the proximal border of the next distal cell. The cells are moderately elongated perpendicular to the proximo-distal axis of the scale. Among the scale surface morphologies described for lizards, the lamellate arrangement of Lacerta and Gerrhonotus is most similar to the Sphenodon morphology. The lamellate epidermal