A Question From a Storyteller

[Catthedragon]

Hi! I just joined this forum because I needed to ask a question about a scientific term that I couldn't seem to find on Google. A little backstory:

 

I'm not much of a scientist myself, really more of a fantasy writer/artist. But I do value science, and whenever I create fanciful alien worlds/realities, I can't help but take a very... "logical" approach to everything. Everything has to "make sense". For instance, when designing a system for how magic works in my world, I created an unidentifiable pseudo-plant that consumes physical matter and generates magical energy, to compensate for the fact that mages consume magical energy to conjure rocks and chemicals and such out of thin air. And I haven't even gone into how my species process magic yet, or how magic stays bound to the planet when it is a nonphysical substance. It all gets very convoluted. But then again, our world is pretty convoluted too.

 

Anyway, to the point. Today I designed an anthropomorphic serpentine species that has the standard flexible endoskeletal spine typical of snakes on Earth. However, it has a defining characteristic in which its ribs and other bones are highly reinforced and elongated, leading them to pierce out of the body and weave around in intricate fashions, as a sort of pseudo-armor. And I was wondering, is there a scientific term for a species like this, which has a skeletal structure that is both inside and outside of the body? Neither exoskeletal nor endoskeletal seemed appropriate to me.

 

Furthermore, I would love to hear what any of you might have to say about the logical/evolutionary advantages/disadvantages of such a creature. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how they sleep, haha. My current idea is that they are able to curl their bodies up into their bone-cages.

 

I've taken the liberty of attaching a picture of a very, very, very early, rough sketch, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. It was taken with a cell phone camera and it's the first time I've ever attempted to create an image of this species, so don't take it too seriously. Anyway, thoughts?

 

Edited April 19, 2014 by Catthedragon

[Acme]

Hi! I just joined this forum because I needed to ask a question about a scientific term that I couldn't seem to find on Google. ...

Anyway, to the point. Today I designed an anthropomorphic serpentine species that has the standard flexible endoskeletal spine typical of snakes on Earth. However, it has a defining characteristic in which its ribs and other bones are highly reinforced and elongated, leading them to pierce out of the body and weave around in intricate fashions, as a sort of pseudo-armor. And I was wondering, is there a scientific term for a species like this, which has a skeletal structure that is both inside and outside of the body? ...

Hi!

Yes; the scientific term is turtle.

 

turtle shell @ Wiki >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_shell

Edited April 19, 2014 by Acme