prosternumn.
/prəʊˈstəːnəm/, U.S. /proʊˈstərnəm/ Entomology.
The median ventral section of the prothorax of an insect.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > thorax > prothorax > lower part of
pectus1819
prosternum1826
presternum1828
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxxv. 544 The sternum or breast-bone of insects consists mostly of three distinct pieces..the first of these pieces, the sternum of the antepectus or prosternum.
1833 Entomol. Mag. 1 474 The prosternum..occupies the lower part of the prothorax.
1895 Cambr. Nat. Hist. V. 102 In the Hymenoptera the prosternum is disconnected from the pronotum.
1944 R. Matheson Entomol. for Introd. Courses xv. 322 Epimera of the prothorax meeting on the middle line behind the prosternum.
1991 Austral. Jrnl. Zool. 39 31 Sites of attachment on the host vary with the species of mite, from predominantly the prosternum to predominantly the alar organs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1826