Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Scutellum \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. (Zo["o]l.)
      (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.