pygidium

[pahy-jid-ee-uhm]

noun

Zoology.

plural

pygidia 

1. any of various structures or regions at the caudal end of the body in certain invertebrates.

pygidium

/ -ˈɡɪd-, paɪˈdʒɪdɪəm /

noun

1. the terminal segment, division, or other structure in certain annelids, arthropods, and other invertebrates

Other Word Forms

• pygidial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pygidium¹

1840–50; < New Latin < Greek pȳg ( ḗ ) rump + -idion diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of pygidium¹

C19: from New Latin, from Greek pugē rump

Example Sentences

The trilobite spans 146 meters from cephalon to pygidium, or head to tail, and is carved into the shape of a spiny Ceraurus trilobite instead of the plainer state fossil, Calymene.

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The trilobite spans 146 meters from cephalon to pygidium, or head to tail, and is carved into the shape of a spiny Ceraurus trilobite instead of the plainer state fossil, Calymene.

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“This is part of his thorax. And we have a thoracic vertebrae here. And at the end here, they call it the pygidium. I call it the trilobutt.”

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Seen from above, it presents three divisions from front to rear:—first, a cephalic shield or head-piece; secondly, a thorax, divided into several segments movable upon each other; and thirdly, a tail-piece or pygidium, which, when brought against the head by the rolling up of the body segments, effectually covers the lower parts.

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Lobe: any prominent rounded process or excrescence on a margin: specifically, the rounded, tooth-like processes on the margin of the pygidium of the Diaspinae: also applied to lateral expansions of the abdominal segments.

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