Scu*tel"lum (?), n.; pl. Scutella (#). [NL., neut. dim. of L. scutum a shield.]
1. Bot.
A rounded apothecium having an elevated rim formed of the proper thallus, the fructification of certain lichens.
2. Zool. (a)
The third of the four pieces forming the upper part of a thoracic segment of an insect. It follows the scutum, and is followed by the small postscutellum; a scutella. See Thorax.
(b)
One of the transverse scales on the tarsi and toes of birds; a scutella.
© Webster 1913.