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Glite Dictionary
chelicerous

chelicerous

9.9
Having special front mouthparts like small claws used to hold and eat food, as in spiders and scorpions
  • adjective
  • Specialized
: quelicerado
  • Most arachnids are chelicerous creatures, using their chelicerae to grasp and manipulate food.

Examples

  • A spider is classified as chelicerous because it possesses specialized feeding appendages.

  • Researchers studied the chelicerous mouthparts of scorpions to understand their feeding habits.

  • The chelicerous spider caught its prey quickly.

  • Are all chelicerous animals predators?

  • Most arachnids are chelicerous, using their chelicerae to capture their prey.

  • Researchers studied the chelicerous features of spiders to learn how they hunt.

  • A scorpion is considered chelicerous because it has specialized mouthparts for feeding.

Synonyms

cheliceral
vschelicerous
  • Specialized
9.9

Relating to the small jawlike mouth parts of spiders or scorpions

is used for animals that actually possess the specialized mouthparts
chelicerate
vschelicerous
  • Specialized
9.9

Having mouthparts like the small pincers near the mouths of spiders and scorpions

is limited to animals that actually have those specialized mouthparts

Surface Forms

chelicerous positive

Morphology

chelicerous = chelicera (transparent) = chelicera + ous

The adjective is formed regularly from the noun 'chelicera' with the suffix '-ous', meaning 'having chelicerae'.

Etymology

Chelicerous comes from the word chelicerae, the name for the special claw-like mouthparts of spiders and scorpions, and that word comes from a Greek root meaning 'claw' or 'pincer'. So a chelicerous animal is one that has these claw-like parts for holding and eating food.