Episode 238 - Osteoderms (Skin Bones)

Some bones are only skin deep! In many species of reptiles, mammals, and amphibians, bones called osteoderms develop within the skin, serving as body armor, additional muscular support, display features, or any number of other functions. This episode, we explore the extraordinary diversity of osteoderm anatomy, we take a tour through the many and varied osteoderms of Earth history, and we investigate a long list of hypothesized functions for these unusual bones. In the news: reptile skin, dinosaur quills, dinosaur bites, and cannibal snakes. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:06:25 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:46:35 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:26:35 Patron question: 02:24:05 Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: Lots more ways to connect with us: The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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Episode 238 - Osteoderms (Skin Bones) is an episode from The Common Descent Podcast by Common Descent.

This episode is 156:07 long.

This episode was published on Mar 1, 2026.

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