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Webster 1913 Edition
Scutellum
‖
Scu-tel′lum
,Noun.
pl.
Scutella
(#)
. [NL., neut. dim. of L.
scutum
a shield.] 1.
(Bot.)
A rounded apothecium having an elevated rim formed of the proper thallus, the fructification of certain lichens.
2.
(Zool.)
(a)
The third of the four pieces forming the upper part of a thoracic segment of an insect. It follows the scutum, and is followed by the small postscutellum; a scutella. See
Thorax
. (b)
One of the transverse scales on the tarsi and toes of birds; a scutella.