Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Hitchhiker

Posted by Tony T on 03-05-2008 22:57
#5

Thanks guys and gal. ID not critical, supposedly 350+ spp. in NA:o

I thought the claws at the end of the pediplaps were small but compared to
the claws on the chelicerae they are huge.
The chelicerae are 2-segmented pincers at the anterior end of the
cephalothorax (tip of the snout between the bases of the pediplaps in the
large image) consisting of a stout base with a sharp claw and an outside moveable 'finger'
The moveable 'finger' has an opening from the silk gland near its tip
Besides the spinning of silk the chelicerae are used to grasp and macerate food.

PHOTO HERE

Edited by Tony T on 05-05-2008 16:32