Re: New name for Syntarsus

[Dennis C Hwang <dchwang@itsa.ucsf.edu>]

On Fri, 1 Feb 2002, Demetrios M Vital wrote:

> No, beetles don't have "tarsi" (read: ankles) as vertebrates do, but the
> distal-most segments of insects' limbs are called tarsi, and the distal-most
> segments of tarsi are called pre-tarsi.  Generally, I believe there are five
> tarsi, but I could be wrong.  Thus, the beetle can indeed have a fused
> tarsus.

Actually, the distribution of numbers of tarsal segments in the front,
middle, and rear pairs of legs (tarsal formula) is one of the methods of
identifying beetles by family. :)

Switching from entomology to etymology, what is the derivation of the name
"Megapnosaurus"?  The "mega-" prefix seems clear, but the following
"pno-" appears odd.  Could it be an acronym?

--Dennis
dchwang@itsa.ucsf.edu