carapace
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carapace
(kâr`əpās), shield, or shell covering, found over all or part of the anterior dorsal portion of an animal. In lobsters, shrimps, crayfish, and crabs, the carapace is the part of the exoskeleton that covers the head and thorax and protects the dorsal and lateral surfaces. In many crustaceans, the term carapace is also used to describe the hard, protective covering of the cephalothorax, as that of the horseshoe crab. The carapace of a turtle's shell is composed of expanded ribs and vertebrae overlain by dermal plates and horny scales.The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
carapace
[′kar·ə‚pās] (geology)
The upper normal limb of a fold having an almost horizontal axial plane.
(invertebrate zoology)
A dorsolateral, chitinous case covering the cephalothorax of many arthropods.
(vertebrate zoology)
The bony, dorsal part of a turtle shell.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
carapace
the thick hard shield, made of chitin or bone, that covers part of the body of crabs, lobsters, tortoises, etc.
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005