this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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Mandibles (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Can they actually bite using those things or are there just there to look scary?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

On the Giant Water Bug (bottom left) they aren't even mouthparts, those are it's first pair of legs.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

That's kinda hot

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

You should start a sexy bug leg/mouthparts community.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Imagine some fishnets over those puppies

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

isn't that technically how it works for all arthropods? Anything vaguely limb-like is in fact a heavily derived leg, including antennae.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

These are real, current legs. The front 2 of the insect norm of 6

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago

Afaik, only the ant bites. The others use them for flinging opponents or grappling with them.

Unlike me, I grapple so I can bite

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The lower left is a toe biter water bug with one of the most painful venoms on the planet

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm getting very mixed answers here (someone else said that's it's legs

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

They are its legs, however they are heavily modified legs made for strongly grappling prey

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Ohhh. Well the big parts that grab stuff are mandibles. They aren't legs but they originate, evolutinarily speaking, from legs. Same with antennae! The parts closer to the head do the eating but sometimes mandibles help with that.

For venomous arthropods sometimes it's the mandibles that have the venom (like spiders, where they are called Chelicerae), for some it's saliva and they use various mouthparts (the water bug uses a proboscus), for some it's their tail end (like ants), etc etc.