Our Development paper ”The origin and loss of periodic patterning in the turtle shell” examines the development and variation (normal and abnormal) of turtle scute formation, integrating two areas of evolutionary developmental biology that are usually separated: The developmental origins of evolutionary novelty and the mechanisms of developmental constraints. ![]() Evolutionarily, scutes are interesting because few groups of turtles vary in the number of scutes on the carapace (dorsal part of the shell), and certain freshwater and marine taxa have lost these structures altogether. Scutes are interesting developmentally because they grow radially to cover the entire shell, and this growth must be coordinated with that of the underlying bones of the shell (though, the patterns of scutes and bones are different). One can often recognize different species of turtles by the shape and pigmentation of their scutes (“Scutum” being the Latin word for shield), or modified scales, that cover the turtle shell in a tessellation. Where did turtles come from and to whom are they related? How did this different body plan arise developmentally and evolutionarily? The pieces of this puzzle are coming together with the help of technological advances that are revealing cryptic aspects about the development of these fascinating animals. What other vertebrate alters its bone development to make an ossified mobile home? The turtle has perplexed biologists for many reasons. Turtles are strange organisms, and their development is wonderfully idiosyncratic.
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