Arachnid Vocabulary

A collection of vocabulary flashcards related to arachnids and their anatomy.

PEDIPALPS

Second appendages on an arachnid used to hold onto prey.

MOLTING

Shedding and discarding of the exoskeleton.

COMPOUND EYES

Multiple individual visual units.

SPIRACLES

Structures that deliver oxygen throughout the body.

METAMORPHOSIS

A dramatic physical change from larva to adult.

CHELICERA

Pincers or fangs on jawless arthropods.

CHRYSALIS

Protective capsule for metamorphosis.

SPINNERETS

Tubes for silk production.

THORAX

The midbody region that all the appendages are connected to.

MALPIGHIAN TUBULES

Slender tubes for waste extraction from an arthropod’s bloodstream.

NYMPH

Juvenile form that looks like a small wingless adult.

BOOK LUNGS

Sac-like pockets with folded walls for respiration.

ABDOMEN

The fused segments at the end of the arthropod body that contain most of the organ systems.

CEPHALOTHORAX

Fused thorax and head.

MANDIBLES

Insect jaws for chewing.

TRACHEAE

Fine tubes for respiration.

PUPA

Stage inside the chrysalis.

ARTH-

Joint or jointed.

POD/PED-

Foot.

CEPHAL-

Head.

EXO-

Out or outside.

CRUST-

Rind or shell.