prosthecan.
/prɒsˈθiːkə/, U.S. /prɑsˈθikə/ Entomology.
In various insects: a flexible projection from the base of the mandible.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > member of (beetle) > parts of > prostheca
prostheca1826
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxxiii. 356 Prostheca.., a subcartilaginous process attached to the inner side, near the base, of the Mandibulæ of some Staphylinidæ.
1892 Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc. 19 85 Arising from the same base as this piercer is another small piece, also membraneous and fringed with hair, quite closely united to the terebra. This is the prostheca of Kirby and Spence, and is homologous to the lacinia of the maxilla.
1942 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 231 252 The bracons show only homoplastic resemblances to the prosthecae of the Staphylinidae.
1988 Jrnl. N.Y. Entomol. Soc. 96 452 Pallodes adult and larval mandibles are adapted for mycophagy with cutting spines on the incisor edges, a well developed prostheca and an asperate mola.
Derivatives
prosˈthecal adj.
ΚΠ
1890 Cent. Dict. Prosthecal, of or pertaining to the prostheca.
1928 Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 21 403 The concavity of the mandible is bounded posteriorly by a rounded prosthecal lobe that bears a compact tuft of long hairs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1826