ptilinum
/(p)tɪˈlʌɪnəm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "As for the structure of the ptilinum itself, Strickland (1953) reported that the ptilina of Conopidae 'are voluminous and represent the most rugged type of ptilinum which we have encountered'."
- "1980, Stuart E. Reynolds, Integration of Behaviour and Physiology in Ecdysis, Michael J. Berridge, J. E. Treherne, Vincent Brian Wigglesworth, Advances in Insect Physiology, Volume 15, page 500, Certainly, the ptilinum, a special eversible sac on the head which is evidently a "hatching" structure, is instrumental in causing the puparium to crack along its line of weakness, a longitudinal line around the anterior end, which meets a circular line extending around the anterior margin of what was the 4th visible segment of the larvae cuticle (Laing, 1935)."
- "The suture is of the nature of an extremely narrow slit, along the margins of which the wall of the head is invaginated to form a membranous sac or ptilinum, and the walls of the latter are seen to consist of the same layers as the integument.[…]The purpose of the ptilinum is to thrust off the anterior end of the puparium at a time when the contained imago is ready to emerge and to force the fly through soil, etc. (Fraenkel, 1936)."
- "Push through the ground is accompanied by and partially brought about by alternate eversion and retraction of the blood-filled sac at the anterior end of the head — the ptilinum.[…]When the fly appears above ground, no resistance is felt by the ptilinum, and signals cease to be received by the sensory nerve fibers."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: ptilīnum, ptiline
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈ(p)tɪlɪnəm/