prescutumn.
/ˌpriːˈskjuːtəm/, U.S. /priˈsk(j)udəm/ Zoology.
The first notal (dorsal) sclerite in each thoracic segment of an insect. Also: an analogous sclerite in the anterior segments of certain other arthropods.
ΚΠ
1868 A. S. Packard Guide to Study of Insects 236 In the mesothorax the præscutum is present, but is usually vertical.
1902 Amer. Naturalist 36 474 Anterior præscuta [of Geophilus neanotus] very short, gradually increasing in size to the first posterior segments.
1946 Amer. Midland Naturalist 35 201 The mesothoracic tergum [in stoneflies of the family Capniidae] is demarked into four main regions: prescutum, scutum, scutellum, and postscutellum; and other minor regions.
1994 P. J. Gullan & P. S. Cranston Insects ii. 40/2 Each alinotum..may be traversed by sutures that..commonly divide the plate into three areas: the anterior prescutum, the scutum and the smaller posterior scutellum.
Derivatives
preˈscutal adj.
ΚΠ
1890 Cent. Dict. Prescutal, of or pertaining to the præscutum.
1921 Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 14 11 Similar to sinistra,..from which it differs in the prescutal markings and hypopygial construction.
1957 Systematic Zool. 6 90 (caption) Praescutal suture or furrow.
1985 Evolution 39 999/2 A. pseudoscutellaris is easily differentiated from all other species by the presence of a lateral prescutal white line or patch.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1868