The spiny mouse is an unassuming rodent, but it’s armed with a very special tail. CT scans show the tail is sheathed in a secret blanket of bony plates. Before the scans, only one other group of ...

Mice aren’t supposed to have lizard tails, which is exactly why Edward Stanley balked when he saw a computerized tomography (CT) scan that revealed what looked like bony plates in the tail of an ...

Armadillos have long been considered to be the only living mammals that produce protective bony plates. But a new study unexpectedly shows that African spiny mice produce the same structures beneath ...

Biologists have long regarded the bony plates found in some lizards as an ancient legacy, passed down and occasionally lost. New research indicates a distinct pattern. According to a study conducted ...