Eel skin. Polarised light micrograph of skin from a European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The eel is a fish that has extremely small scales embedded in it

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Eel skin. Polarised light micrograph of skin from a European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The eel is a fish that has extremely small scales embedded in its skin. Fish scales arise from the skin of a fish. They are made from dentine, and are similar to teeth and hair. An eel's scales are arranged in small groups, forming patterns as seen here. In the near-absence of scales, mucus is secreted to protect the skin. This makes eels very slippery to handle, hence the phrase 'slippery as an eel'. 'Eel skin' leather, despite its name, is not from eels, but from a different fish, the Pacific hagfish. Magnification: x37 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

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Size: 5125px × 3417px
Photo credit: © DR KEITH WHEELER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anguilla, animal, aquatic, biological, biology, bony, close-, common, detail, eel, european, fauna, fish, freshwater, ichthyology, light, lm, loop, loops, micrograph, microscope, mucus, multicolored, multicoloured, nature, pattern, plm, polarisation, polarised, polarization, polarized, scales, skin, slimy, slippery, small, smooth, underwater, vulgaris, water, whorl, whorls, wildlife, zoological, zoology