Class 11 NEET Biology Animal Kingdom Questions Part 1

(a) : The stratum corneum ("the horny layer") is the outermost layer of the epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin). It is composed mainly off dead cells that lack nuclei. In reptiles, the stratum corneum is permanent, and is only replaced during times of rapid growth, in a process called ecdysis or moulting. During ecdysis, small fragments of this layer are periodically shed of from the body. The new layer is regularly formed by underlying stratum germinativum.