chelicera
Americannoun
-
chelicerae
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chelicera
1825–35; < New Latin, equivalent to cheli- cheli- + Greek kér ( as ) horn + Latin -a feminine noun ending
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It represents a transitional form, linking earlier Cambrian arthropods that seem to lack chelicera with later horseshoe crab-like species known as synziphosurines.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
The most striking feature is the chelicera, a pincer-like appendage that defines chelicerates.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
Despite the abundance of Cambrian fossils, no clear example of a chelicera from that period had been identified before.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
"Claws are never in that location in a Cambrian arthropod," said Lerosey-Aubril, "It took me a few minutes to realize the obvious, I had just exposed the oldest chelicera ever found."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
Falx, falks, n. a sickle-shaped part or process, as of the dura mater of the skull: a chelicera: a poison-fang of a snake: a rotula of a sea-urchin:—pl.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
These structures represent an early form of chelicerae and provide evidence of the evolutionary beginnings of the pincers and fangs seen in chelicerates today.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Depending on the species, chelicerae can function as pincers or fangs that grip, pierce, or stab prey.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
In some species, like sea spiders, an additional pair of appendages, called ovigers, is present between the chelicerae and pedipalps.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The photo shows a black, shiny scorpion with very large chelicerae, or pincers.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The chelicerae writhed, questing for prey, and the sphincter-maw spasmed, teeth clicking open and shut, searching for something to bite into.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
