chelicerate

noun, plural che·lic·er·ae [kuh–lis–uh-ree] /kəˈlɪs əˌri/.

1. one member of the first pair of usually pincerlike appendages of spiders and other arachnids.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Chelicerata, a subphylum of arthropods, including arachnids and the horseshoe crab, in which the first pair of limbs are modified as chelicerae

noun

2. any arthropod belonging to the Chelicerata

noun plural -erae (-əˌriː)

1. one of a pair of appendages on the head of spiders and other arachnids: often modified as food-catching claws

1. Any of various, mostly terrestrial arthropods of the subphylum Chelicerata, having a body divided into two main parts: a cephalothorax and an abdomen. Chelicerates have specialized feeding appendages (chelicerae) and lack antennae. Chelicerates include the arachnids and merostomes (horseshoe crabs) and are closely related to the extinct trilobites.