Figure 5
From: Taxonomy through the lens of neutral helium microscopy
SHeM micrographs of the dorsal skin obtained from a female Port Jackson shark. (a) A ca. 3 × 4 mm section of skin, including several dermal denticles protruding out of the underlying surface. Scale bar 1 mm, 1.7 seconds dwell per pixel. (b) Zoomed region of the same area of tissue, indicated by the box inset from (a). Micrograph focuses on three dermal denticles, which exhibit the characteristics of defensive functionality45. Annotations refer to the heights of specific features as obtained through the 3D SHeM technique; heights of (144 ± 72) μm, (216 ± 72) μm and (576 ± 72) μm were found for the various denticles, as referenced to a plane across the general skin surface. Scale bar 500 μm, 1.7 seconds dwell per pixel. (c) Micrograph of an additional lone denticle from a different region of dorsal skin, serving to highlight the intuitive nature of the images produced by the technique. Scale bar 250 μm, 1.7 seconds dwell per pixel. This figure is not covered by CC BY licence. [Photograph of Port Jackson shark is credited to Frank Greenaway/Getty Images]. All rights reserved, used with permission.
