Photo of a Goldfish
Scale
I scanned this scale using a slide scanner, and I thought the pattern on
it was very interesting. I discovered that goldfish have "cycloid"
scales. The left part of the scale with big radial ripples (not the
orange part) is the part that is embedded in the fish. The orange
crescent is what we see. I made the tick marks, but unfortunately, I
can't remember what they are, in real life. Sigh!! I'll hunt down the
scale and measure it, sometime. I suppose the dimension doesn't exactly
matter, since it probably depends somewhat on the size of the goldfish.
Hmmm.
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Last Modified June 13, 1997