carapace

(kăr'ə-pās')

1. Zoology. A hard bony or chitinous outer covering, such as the fused dorsal plates of a turtle or the portion of the exoskeleton covering the head and thorax of a crustacean.
2. A protective, shell-like covering likened to that of a turtle or crustacean: "He used to worry that Sarah would age the same way, develop the same brittle carapace" (Anne Tyler).

[French, from Spanish carapacho.]

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A carapace has to be the ultimate thick skin: if you've got one you're protected against sticks, stones and name-calling. Journalist Gwen Ifill, writing in The New York Times, laments the racial slurs hurled by radio host Don Imus at the mostly black members of Rutgers' female basketball team:

"It is about the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. That game had to be the biggest moment of their lives, and the outcome the biggest disappointment. They are not old enough, or established enough, to have built up the sort of carapace many women I know — black women in particular — develop to guard themselves against casual insult."

Link: Trash Talk Radio - New York Times

Posted April 11, 2007.

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The dorsal shell of turtles and tortoises. Abnormalities are caused by trauma, dietary deficiencies (particularly nutritional hyperparathyroidism), infections, environmental factors and tumors.

Carapace of the tortoise. By permission from Aspinall V, O'Reilly M, Introduction to Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, Butterworth Heinemann, 2004

• Secrecy and Concealment - carapace: disguising, often ornamental shell

Diagram of a prawn, with the carapace highlighted in orange

A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.

Contents 1 Crustaceans 2 Arachnida 3 Turtles and tortoises 4 References

Crustaceans

The molted carapace of a lady crab from Long Beach, New York.

In crustaceans, the carapace is a part of the exoskeleton that covers the cephalothorax. It is particularly well developed in lobsters and crabs.

The carapace functions as a protective cover over the cephalothorax. Where it projects forward beyond the eyes, this projection is called a rostrum. The carapace is calcified to varying degrees in different crustaceans.

Zooplankton within the phylum Crustacea also have a carapace. These include Cladocera, Ostracods, and Isopods, however Isopods only have a developed "cephalic shield" carapace covering the head.

Arachnida

Diagram of an arachnid, with the carapace highlighted in purple

In arachnids, the carapace is formed by the fusion of prosomal tergites into a single plate which carries the eyes, ocularium, ozopores (a pair of openings of the scent gland of Opiliones) and diverse phaneres.

In a few orders, such as Solifugae and Schizomida, the carapace may be subdivided. In Opiliones, some authors prefer to use the term carapace interchangeably with the term cephalothorax, which is incorrect usage, because carapace refers only to the dorsal part of the exoskeleton of the cephalothorax.

An alternative term for the carapace of arachnids and their relatives, which avoids confusion with crustaceans, is prosomal dorsal shield.

Turtles and tortoises

Main article: Turtle shell

The carapace is the dorsal (back) convex part of the shell structure of a turtle, consisting primarily of the animal's ribcage, dermal armor and scutes. See the main article on the turtle shell for detailed information.

References

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v · d · eTurtle terms Carapace · Fibropapillomatosis · Gular scute · Jackson ratio · Plastron · Pyramiding

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - rygskjold

Nederlands (Dutch)
schild/schaal van schildpad/ schelpdier

Français (French)
n. - (lit, fig) carapace

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rückenschild, Schale

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χελωνόστρακο, χελωνοκαύκαλο

Italiano (Italian)
carapace

Português (Portuguese)
n. - carapaça (f), couraça (f)

Русский (Russian)
панцирь

Español (Spanish)
n. - caparazón

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ryggsköld

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
甲壳, 壳

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 甲殼, 殼

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 게나 거북이의 등 딱지, 마음의 가면

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 甲羅, 甲殻

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) غلاف عظمي يغطي ظهر السلحفاة و غيرها‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שריון הצב‬

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