plastron
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈplæstrən/
- Specialized
:
plastrón
- The plastron is the part of a turtle's shell that protects its underside.
Examples
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The pectoralis would have connected the humerus and the plastron (pl).
Blog text (15) -
Did you look under your plastron, dick wicker?
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The lower shell that covers the belly is called the plastron.
Blog text (2) -
I've been trying to get my granddaughter to a science fair experiment where bean bag odontochelys are pulled across soft ground, with and without plastrons to see which takes less energy.
Blog text (15) -
"We agree that we must speak to you of things that have never been spoken outside the Brotherhood, but?" Litlun stopped, plucking nervously at the hard shell of his plastron.
Fiction book (1991) -
They don't have to stand up first before they go; they save time (one motion instead of two) by snapping all four legs back and sliding forward using the plastron like a toboggan.
Blog text (15) -
In many turtles, the plastron is darker than the rest of the shell.
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When a turtle retreats into its shell, the plastron shields its body from predators.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Plastron comes from French and Italian words meaning 'plate' or 'flat piece'. In animals this became the name for the flat 'plate' under a turtle, so the plastron is the hard lower shell that protects the belly.