Editing Scale (zoology) (section)

==Arthropod scales==
{{See also|Scale (insect anatomy)}}
[[File:Luna moth scales.jpg|thumb|Scales on a [[luna moth]] (''Actias luna'')]]
[[File:Spider scale.jpg|thumb|Generalized structure of a keeled, lanceolate scale from a [[jumping spider]]]]
[[Butterflies]] and [[moth]]s - the order [[Lepidoptera]] ([[Greek language|Greek]] "scale-winged") - have membranous [[Insect wing|wings]] covered in delicate, powdery scales, which are modified [[setae]].  Each scale consists of a series of tiny stacked platelets of organic material, and butterflies tend to have the scales broad and flattened, while moths tend to have the scales narrower and more hair like.  Scales are usually [[pigment]]ed, but some types of scales are iridescent, without pigments; because the thickness of the platelets is on the same order as the [[wavelength]] of [[visible light]] the plates lead to structural coloration and [[iridescence]] through the physical phenomenon described as [[thin-film optics]]. The most common color produced in this fashion is [[blue]], such as in the ''[[Morpho (genus)|Morpho]]'' butterflies.

Some types of [[spider]]s also have scales. Spider scales are flattened setae that overlay the surface of the [[cuticle]]. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. At least 13 different spider families are known to possess cuticular scales, although they have only been well described for [[jumping spider]]s (Salticidae) and [[lynx spider]]s (Oxyopidae).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Townsend |first1=Victor R. |last2=Felgenhauer |first2=Bruce E. |title=Cuticular Scales of Spiders |journal=Invertebrate Biology |date=1998 |volume=117 |issue=4 |pages=318 |doi=10.2307/3227034|jstor=3227034 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=David E. |title=Jumping spider scales (Araneae: Salticidae) |journal=Peckhamia |date=22 October 2022 |volume=279 |issue=1 |pages=1–83 |url=http://peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_279.1.pdf}}</ref> 

Some [[crustacean]]s such as ''[[Glyptonotus antarcticus]]'' have knobbly scales.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Meyer-Rochow, V. B. |year=1980 |title=Cuticular surface structures in ''Glyptonotus antarcticus'' — a marine isopod from the Ross Sea (Antarctica) |journal=Zoomorphologie |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=209–216 |doi=10.1007/BF01081935 |s2cid=9216365 }}</ref> Some [[crayfish]] have been shown to use antennal scales that are activated in rapid response movements.<ref name="Herberholz">{{cite web |last1=Herberholz |first1=Jens |last2=Swierzbinski |first2=Matthew E. |last3=Widjaja |first3=Austin |last4=Kohn |first4=Armand |title=Not so fast: giant interneurons control precise movements of antennal scales during escape behavior of crayfish |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00359-019-01356-y |website=Journal of Comparative Physiology A |access-date=5 January 2024 |pages=687–698 |language=en |doi=10.1007/s00359-019-01356-y |date=1 October 2019}}</ref>