carapace

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carapace
1. The domed top of a chelonian shell (Chelonia), composed of two layers:
a. an inner body capsule of interlocking plates (the median neurals associated with the vertebrae; the lateral costals associated with the ribs, and encircled by the marginals); and

b. a covering of horny scutes, forming a similar pattern but not corresponding exactly to the underlying bones.


2. See CEPHALOTHORAX.

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