# Episode 238 - Osteoderms (Skin Bones)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast-466591/episode-238-osteoderms-skin-bones
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast-466591/episode-238-osteoderms-skin-bones.md
Podcast: [The Common Descent Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast-466591)
Published: 2026-03-01T01:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-238-osteoderms-skin-bones/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/duf2sswg2mqu9pua/Episode_238_Osteoderms_Skin_Bones.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-common-descent-podcast-466591/episodes/episode-238-osteoderms-skin-bones
Duration seconds: 9367

## Resource

Some bones are only skin deep! In many species of reptiles, mammals, and amphibians, bones called osteoderms develop within the skin, serving as body armor, additional muscular support, display features, or any number of other functions. This episode, we explore the extraordinary diversity of osteoderm anatomy, we take a tour through the many and varied osteoderms of Earth history, and we investigate a long list of hypothesized functions for these unusual bones. In the news: reptile skin, dinosaur quills, dinosaur bites, and cannibal snakes. Time markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:06:25Main discussion, Part 1: 00:46:35Main discussion, Part 2: 01:26:35 Patron question: 02:24:05 Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/ Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

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## Transcript

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