prothorax
/prəʊˈθɔːraks/noun Entomology
The anterior segment of the thorax of an insect, not bearing any wings.Relative to the foundress, soldiers have an enlarged prothorax and fore femora, reduced wings and antennae, and a pale exoskeleton....
- This expansion of the posterior expression boundaries was examined in detail and correlated with derived morphological structures of the prothorax as compared with the most primitive apterygote species.
- The prothorax is small, the legs slender, the first pair elongate.
Derivatives
prothoracic
- A typical male will clasp the lateral edges of the female's elytra with his prothoracic and mesothoracic legs, while his metathoracic legs are extended behind to serve as stabilizers when they drag on the substrate.
- Progress in this field is the subject of a recent review in which signaling systems so far known in vertebrate steroidogenic glands (ovaries, testes, adrenal cortex), insect prothoracic glands and crustacean Y-organs are compared.
- These steroid hormones are produced by the crustacean Y-organs and the insect prothoracic glands.