Gerrhosaurus (Gerrhosaurus major) (side view)

Gerrhosaurus is one of many lizards that are armored with bony scales, known as osteoderms, that cover and fuse to the bones of the skull. Until now, it was difficult to non-destructively study the skulls of these animals because the osteoderms cover the sutures and other markers that biologists use to differentiate among species. The image (and animation) presented here show that the osteoderms can be removed digitally, enabling a clear view of the underlying skull bones. Skull (with osteoderms) is 49.5 mm in length. Specimen courtesy of Dr. Chris Bell, University of Texas at Austin.

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