Review of osteoderm function and future research directions

Abstract

Osteoderms, bone plates in the skin, are widely but discontinuously distributed across the phylogeny of tetrapods. This and their pronounced morphological disparity has inspired many hypotheses on possible osteoderm functions. Most of these have not been systematically studied or summarised based on the published disparate literature. We provide here a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge in this field with a focus on extant non-avian reptiles. We also discuss functions in other extant osteoderm-bearing taxa and those inferred from the fossil record. The hypotheses are categorised into protection, lifestyle and locomotion, physiology, and visual functions. A comprehensive overview of future directions in this field is provided. With this review, we hope to encourage future research to investigate the functional aspect of osteoderms. This might inspire biomimetics and shed light on the role that osteoderm expression may have played in shaping present-day biodiversity.