Thorax (arthropod)

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Schematic representation of a tsetse fly, the head (violet), thorax (blue) and abdomen (green) are highlighted

In zoology , the trunk or chest part of an arthropod is called the thorax . The abdomen is attached to the thorax . The thorax consists of several segments , in the case of insects, for example, the prothorax , the mesothorax and the metathorax . All thoracic segments of the insects each have a pair of legs , the meso- and metathorax also have a pair of wings , whereby a pair can be receded, for example the hind wings of the two-winged birds. With waist waspsthe thorax is connected to the first segment of the abdomen with almost no visible suture. The resulting unit is called the mesosoma .

Are the head and thorax fused into one unit, e.g. B. in arachnids , then one speaks of a cephalothorax .

literature

  • M. Schaefer: Brohmer. Fauna of Germany. A book of identification of our native fauna. Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2000, ISBN 3-494-01295-4 .