noun, plural scu·tel·la [skyoo-tel–uh] /skyuˈtɛl ə/.
- Botany. the shieldlike cotyledon of certain monocots.
- Zoology. a small plate, scutum, or other shieldlike part, as on the thorax of insects or the feet of birds.
noun plural -la (-lə) biology
- the last of three plates into which the notum of an insect’s thorax is divided
- one of the scales on the tarsus of a bird’s leg
- an outgrowth from a germinating grass seed that probably represents the cotyledon
- any other small shield-shaped part or structure
Plural scutella
- A shieldlike bony plate or scale, as on the thorax of some insects.
- The large, shield-shaped cotyledon of the embryo of a grass plant, specialized for the absorption of food from the endosperm.