Chelae
pincer-like organ terminating certain limbs of some arthropods
A chela () – also called a claw, nipper, or pincer – is a pincer-shaped organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek χηλή (khēlḗ), through Neo-Latin chela. The plural form is chelae. Another common name is claw because most chelae are curved and have a sharp point like a claw.
A chela is formed by the modification of at least 2 distal segments (podomeres). The terminal segment is a mobile claw-like unit to open or close the chela, referred to as the movable finger or free finger. The basal segment, which houses muscles to move the movable finger, bears a claw-like protrusion called the fixed finger that faces toward the retracting (closing) direction of the movable finger, where both fingers contact and work together as a pincer-like structure. Appendages with a chela are termed chelate or cheliform.
Terminal podomeres which fold back towards the previous podomere may be called a "subchela" (subchelate). This includes the raptorial front legs of the mantis, the grasping claws of lice, and some chelicerae such as spider fangs.
The public source identifies “Chelae” as pincer-like organ terminating certain limbs of some arthropods. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chelae, pincer-like and organ.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1069045. The Library of Congress control number is sh85022865. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chelae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.