Dictionary

metaleg en · NOUN

Etymology

From meta- + leg.

Meanings

1. Either of the two hind legs on an insect.
   • In X. flavitibia the first three tarsomeres of the metaleg are bright yellow. 2019, Jeffrey H. Skevington, Michelle M. Locke, Andrew D. Young, Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America:
   • The parts make up different but constant proportions of the entire leg for the pro- and mesolegs, but in the metaleg, the femur becomes relatively shorter and the tibia longer as size increases. 2013, Walter R. Tschinkel, The Fire Ants:
   • Likewise, in those insects where the metalegs are fitted for jumping, the prolegs and mesolegs are coordinated with the metalegs and fitted for walking 1923, Alexander Dyer MacGillivray, External Insect Anatomy:

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