Gnathosoma

Ixodes hexagonus, a tick

The gnathosoma (from Greek γνάθος, gnáthos = "jaw" and σώμα, sóma = "body") is the part of the body of the Acari (mites and ticks) comprising the mouth and feeding parts.[1] These are the hypostome, the chelicerae and the pedipalps.[2] It is also called the capitulum[3] (however, this word also has other meanings). It is separated from the main body of the animal (the idiosoma) by a flexible section of the cuticle called the circumcapitular furrow[3] or circumcapitular suture.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Acarid :: External Features". Britannica Online Library Edition. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Ixodes ricinus: Taxonomy". Natural History Museum. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Carruthers, Liza. "mite". Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  4. ↑ Walter, David Evans, Gerald Krantz, and Evert Lindquist. 1996. Acari. The Mites. Version 13 December 1996. in Tree of Life Web Project.


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