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The thorax is the midsection of the hexapod body (insects and entognathans). It holds the head, legs , wings and abdomen . It is also called mesosoma or cephalothorax in other arthropods.
The insect thorax has three segments: the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax. The anterior segment, closest to the head, is the prothorax; its major features are the first pair of legs and the pronotum. The middle segment is the mesothorax; its major features are the second pair of legs and the anterior wings, if any.
The thorax (pl.: thoraces or thoraxes) [1] or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In insects , crustaceans , and the extinct trilobites , the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the body, each in turn composed of multiple segments.
Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species.
The insect is made up of three main body regions (tagmata), the head, thorax and abdomen. The head comprises six fused segments with compound eyes , ocelli , antennae and mouthparts, which differ according to the insect's particular diet, e.g. grinding, sucking, lapping and chewing.
Each insect has a characteristic up-and-down pattern of movement; strong wingbeats propel it upwards and forwards with the tail sloping down; when it stops moving its wings, it falls passively with the abdomen tilted upwards. Females fly into these swarms, and mating takes place in the air.
The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head (κεφαλή, kephalé) and thorax (θώραξ, thórax). [3] This fusion of the head and thorax is seen in chelicerates and crustaceans; in other groups, such as the Hexapoda (including insects), the head remains free of the thorax. [1]
The forelegs are reduced in the Nymphalidae Diagram of an insect leg. The thorax, which develops from segments 2, 3, and 4 of the larva, consists of three invisibly divided segments, namely prothorax, metathorax, and mesothorax. [11] The organs of insect locomotion – the legs and wings – are borne on the thorax.