# Odontode

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{{Short description|Dermal teeth found in some fish species}}
{{Redirect|Odontodes|the genus of moth|Odontodes (moth)}}
[[File:Guyanancistrus longispinis.png | thumb | right | alt=this image shows a suckermouth catfish ’s odontodes on its pectoral fins. displaying its teeth-like frills. | The frill-like odontodes on a [suckermouth catfish](/source/Guyanancistrus_longispinis)’s [pectoral fins](/source/pectoral_fins)]] 
'''Odontodes''', or [dermal](/source/Dermis) [teeth](/source/teeth), are hard structures found on the external surfaces of animals or near internal openings. They consist of a soft [pulp cavity](/source/pulp_cavity) surrounded by [dentine](/source/dentine) and covered by a mineralised substance such as [enamel](/source/tooth_enamel), a structure similar to that of teeth.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Lists/Glossary/GlossaryO.html | title = Paleos Vertebrates: Glossary | access-date = 2006-05-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060622200726/http://palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Lists/Glossary/GlossaryO.html | archive-date = 2006-06-22 | url-status = dead }}</ref> They generally do not have the same function as teeth, and are not replaced the same way teeth are in most [fish](/source/fish).<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4067/is_200210/ai_n9111235/pg_10 | title = Evolution of development of the vertebrate dermal and oral skeletons: Unraveling concepts, regulatory theories, and homologies | work=Paleobiology | year=2002}}</ref> In some animals (notably [catfish](/source/catfish)), the presence or size of odontodes can be used in determining the sex.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.plecofanatics.com/forum/index.php?page=sexing_zebra_pleco| title = Sexual Dimorphism of the "Zebra Pleco" Hypancistrus zebra| access-date = 2006-05-22| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060516193655/http://www.plecofanatics.com/forum/index.php?page=sexing_zebra_pleco| archive-date = 2006-05-16| url-status = dead}}</ref>

Odontodes typically cover the body of [chondrichthyans](/source/Chondrichthyes) (cartilaginous fishes), while mineralized dermal scales are characteristic of [bony fishes](/source/Osteichthyes). During the evolution to bony fishes, ancestral odontodes have been modified to become dermal scales, including [elasmoid scale](/source/elasmoid_scale)s in [teleost](/source/teleost)eans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dhouailly|first1=Danielle|last2=Godefroit|first2=Pascal|last3=Martin|first3=Thomas|last4=Nonchev|first4=Stefan|last5=Caraguel|first5=Flavien|last6=Oftedal|first6=Olav|date=April 2019|title=Getting to the root of scales, feather and hair: As deep as odontodes?|journal=Experimental Dermatology|language=en|volume=28|issue=4|pages=503–508|doi=10.1111/exd.13391|pmid=28603898|s2cid=38481860|issn=0906-6705|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The name comes from the Greek "''odous, [gen.](/source/genetive_case) odontos''" meaning tooth.

==Images==
Aquino et al. (2001) show [scanning electron microscope](/source/scanning_electron_microscope) images of odontodes on a catfish.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aquino|first1=Adriana E.|last2=Schaefer|first2=Scott A.|last3=Miquelarena|first3=Amalia M.|date=June 2001|title=A New Species of ''Hisonotus'' (Siluriformes, Loricariidae) of the Upper Río Uruguay Basin|journal=American Museum Novitates|issue=3333|pages=1–12|doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2001)333<0001:ANSOHS>2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free|s2cid=7469285 |issn=0003-0082}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [Dermal denticle](/source/Dermal_denticle)

==References==
<references />

Category:Teeth
Category:Animal anatomy
Category:Ichthyology
Category:Veterinary dentistry

{{animal-anatomy-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Odontode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odontode) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odontode?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.