Book 32, Question 2
Why do crocodile skin plates have bone inside?
A crocodile’s back is covered with thick scales, and under many of them sits a flat piece of bone called an osteoderm.
Together the bony plates make a flexible suit of armor that protects the animal. They also help support its heavy body. If you look at a crocodile’s back, the bumpy pattern is the outside of those hidden bone plates.