Scale Microstructure
Definition
The internal and surface architecture of a pangolin scale visible under light microscopy or scanning electron microscopy, including ridge pattern, cross-section shape, and cortex-to-core ratio, which varies between species.
- Examined under
- Light microscopy or scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Key features
- Ridge pattern, cross-section shape, cortex-to-core ratio
- Species-specific
- Yes, varies between pangolin species
- Applied to
- Pangolin scale seizures
Common questions
Why examine scale microstructure instead of just DNA?+
Microstructure analysis can be done quickly and non-destructively on dried, boiled, or processed scales where DNA is degraded, giving investigators a fast screening step before committing material to slower molecular testing.
Can microstructure alone confirm the species of a seized scale?+
It can narrow the field and flag likely species, but where legal certainty is needed, most laboratories confirm with DNA barcoding because some morphological features overlap between closely related pangolin species.
Related terms
- DNA Barcoding
- Species identification using a short, standardised region of the mitochondrial genome. For animals, the primary barcode marker is a 648-base-pair segment of...
- Keratin
- The structural protein that forms pangolin scales, human fingernails, and bird feathers. In scales it is arranged in a layered matrix whose...
- LC-MS (Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry)
- An analytical workflow in which proteins or peptides are separated by chromatography and then identified by their mass-to-charge ratios. Used for pangolin...
- Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI)
- The smallest number of distinct individuals required to account for all skeletal elements present in an assemblage. Determined by identifying the element...
- TRAFFIC Pangolin Seizure Database
- A compiled database of documented pangolin trade seizures maintained by TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network), used to establish trade routes, source...