Cephalothorax
The cephalothorax is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind.[1] (The terms prosoma and opisthosoma are equivalent to cephalothorax and abdomen in some groups.) The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head (κεφαλή, kephalé) and thorax (θώραξ, thórax).[2] This fusion of the head and thorax is seen in chelicerates and crustaceans; in other groups, such as the Hexapoda (including insects), the head remains free of the thorax.[1] In horseshoe crabs and many crustaceans, a hard shell called the carapace covers the cephalothorax.[3]
References
- ^ a b Eldra Pearl Solomon, Linda R. Berg & Diana W. Martin (2004). "Tha animal kingdom: an introduction to animal diversity". Biology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 534–549. ISBN 978-0-534-49276-2.
- ^ Timothy J. Gibb & C. Y. Oseto (2006). "Glossary". Arthropod Collection and Identification: Field and Laboratory Techniques. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-369545-1.
- ^ Andrew J. Martinez (2003). "Arthropoda (crabs, shrimps, lobsters)". Marine Life of the North Atlantic: Canada to New England (3rd ed.). Aqua Quest Publications. pp. 144–175. ISBN 978-1-881652-32-8.
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