mesothorax

American  

[mez-uh-thawr-aks, -thohr-, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh-] / ˌmɛz əˈθɔr æks, -ˈθoʊr-, ˌmɛs-, ˌmi zə-, -sə- /

noun

• mesothoraxes,
  plural
• mesothoraces
  plural

1. the middle segment of the three divisions of the thorax of an insect, bearing the second pair of legs and the first pair of wings.

---

mesothorax British  

/ ˌmɛsəʊˈθɔːræks /

noun

1. the middle segment of the thorax of an insect, bearing the second pair of walking legs and the first pair of wings See also prothorax metathorax

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mesothoracic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mesothoraces
  plural
• mesothoraxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mesothorax

First recorded in 1820–30; meso- + thorax

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mesothorax

The point wounded has never varied in the series of combats under glass: it occupies the middle of the line of demarcation between the prothorax and the mesothorax, on the ventral surface.

From More Hunting Wasps by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

These are the mesothorax and the first eight abdominal segments.

From The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Thorax finely punctured, with the disk of the mesothorax impunctate; wings dark brown with a rich coppery iridescence.

From Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society - Vol. 3 Zoology by Various

On either side we count nine stigmata, set as before on the mesothorax and the first eight abdominal segments.

From The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

On this new mesothorax the characteristic arrangement of the bristles is shown.

From A Critique of the Theory of Evolution by Thomas Hunt Morgan