pecten
/ˈpɛktɛn
/noun (plural pectens or pectines /ˈpɛktɪniːz/) Zoology
1Any of a number of comb-like structures occurring in animal bodies, in particular:
1.1A pigmented vascular projection from the choroid in the eye of a bird.The pecten forms the staff of the pigeon's omniscient sight.
1.2An appendage of an insect consisting of or bearing a row of bristles or chitinous teeth.
1.3A sensory appendage on the underside of a scorpion.
2A scallop.
- Genus Pecten, family Pectinidae.
Derivatives
pectinate
- Many species have thickly feathered legs; their well-developed talons have a smooth edge on the claw of the third toe (in contrast to the pectinate claw of the tytonids), which is longer than the second toe.
- The most striking difference is the elimination of the postcranially primitive clade of hominoids in the early Miocene in favor of a pectinate succession of taxa.
- They have long legs, and their inner toe, which is as long as the middle one, has a pectinate claw.
pectinated
- It differs in having ribs that are not as deeply pectinated and in having ribs that increase in number proximally by insertion rather than by bifurcation.
pectination
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting the metacarpus): from Latin pecten, pectin- 'a comb, rake'.