carapace
Sign in to savethumb|200px|Diagram of a prawn, with the carapace highlighted in red A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Crustaceans
- Arachnids
- Turtles and tortoises
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|200px|Diagram of a prawn, with the carapace highlighted in red A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.
==Crustaceans== thumb|The molted carapace of a lady crab from [[Long Beach, New York]] In crustaceans, the carapace functions as a protective cover over the cephalothorax (i.e., the fused head and thorax, as distinct from the abdomen behind). Where it projects forward beyond the eyes, this projection is called a rostrum. The carapace is calcified to varying degrees in different crustaceans.