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Global Study Reveals Hidden Dermal Armour in Goannas and Nearly Half of Lizards

Non-destructive micro-CT scans of century-old museum specimens uncover a previously unseen layer of dermal armour, setting the stage for deeper insights into reptile evolution.

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Overview

  • The research, published July 21–22 in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, represents the first large-scale global survey of osteoderms in lizards and snakes.
  • Scientists performed non-destructive micro-CT scans on nearly 2,000 reptile specimens from museums in Australia, Europe and the United States, including samples over 120 years old.
  • Osteoderms were identified in 29 Australo-Papuan monitor species, marking a fivefold increase in documented cases among goannas.
  • Analysis shows dermal armour occurs in about 46% of lizard species worldwide, an 85% rise over previous estimates.
  • The study provides a comprehensive dataset and supports new hypotheses about osteoderm roles in protection, thermoregulation, mobility and calcium storage during reproduction.