chelicera

American  

[kuh-lis-er-uh] / kəˈlɪs ər ə /

noun

PLURAL

chelicerae

1. one member of the first pair of usually pincerlike appendages of spiders and other arachnids.

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chelicera British  

/ kɪˈlɪsərə /

noun

1. one of a pair of appendages on the head of spiders and other arachnids: often modified as food-catching claws

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Other Word Forms

• cheliceral adjective
• chelicerate adjective

Etymology

Origin of chelicera

1825–35; < New Latin, equivalent to cheli- cheli- + Greek kér ( as ) horn + Latin -a feminine noun ending

Example Sentences

What do they do with those long appendages that look like jaws, the chelicerae?

From New York Times

They then perform a breaststroke maneuver with the chelicerae, spreading them like arms and pulling them back.

From Scientific American

As they report in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, ticks first burrow into the host's skin with two telescoping, barbed structures called chelicerae.

From Scientific American