Mon Prof Augmenté
Shell Plates and Head Scales
Sea turtles can look alike, but their shells and heads have helpful patterns. You can tell some species apart by counting the plates on the shell and the scales between the eyes.
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Age 9: open this week
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In the picture
- A shell side plate: a hard plate along the shell edge.
- A single row of scales: one line of scales between the eyes.
- A double row of scales: two lines of scales between the eyes.
Examples
- At an aquarium, two sea turtle species may have different numbers of side plates on their shells.
- In a nature book, you can compare the scales between the eyes of two sea turtle species.
Key takeaways
- Counting shell plates helps tell some sea turtle species apart.
- The pattern of scales between the eyes also helps identify a species.
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