Tail hair - Cercus

Japanese: 尾毛 - びもう（英語表記）cercus

A pair of projections that appear on the tergite of the terminal segment of an insect (the 10th or 11th abdominal segment); they are modified abdominal appendages and are found in many adults and larvae. The tail hairs of grasshoppers are short and segmentless, while those of crickets are long. Many cockroaches are made up of many segments. Silverbacks and stone fleas have up to three long tails, while mayflies have two or three tails that are longer than their body length. The tail hairs of earwigs are modified into hard, segmentless tail pincers. The shape of the tail hairs is a taxonomic characteristic of groups and species.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

昆虫の末端体節(第10または第11腹節)の背板に生じる1対の突起をいい，腹節付属肢の変形したもので，多くの成虫や幼虫に見られる。バッタの尾毛は無節で短いが，コオロギ類のそれは長い。ゴキブリ類では多数の環節からなるものが多い。シミやイシノミ類では長くて3本あり，カゲロウ類は2～3本で，体長よりも長い。ハサミムシ類の尾毛は変形して，無節で堅い尾鋏（びきよう）となる。尾毛の形態は群や種の分類学上の特徴になっている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Nemerteans - String-shaped animals

>>: String - String