Terminal filum

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Mayflies often have very long cerci , the third thread in the middle is the terminal filum

A terminal filum or terminal thread is an unpaired appendix at the end of the abdomen of various insects . It is not a remnant of a pair of extremities, but is a formation of the last segment of the abdomen , the telson .

Normally the terminal filum is long and thread-like like the mayflies , but most insects do not have one. In addition to the terminal filum, two additional attachments, which are called cerci , often appear on the last segment before the pygidium .

literature

  • PJ Gullan, PS Cranston: The Insects - an outline of entomology. 3. Edition. Blackwell publishing, Malden 2005, ISBN 1-4051-1113-5 .