Showing results for chelicerate. Search instead for Chelicerae.

chelicerate

British

/ kɪˈlɪsəˌreɪt /

adjective

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

any arthropod belonging to the Chelicerata

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

chelicerate Scientific

/ kə-lĭs′ər-āt′,-ĭt /

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is now recognized as the earliest known chelicerate, a group that includes spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

The new specimen predates them by 20 million years, placing M. cousteaui near the base of the chelicerate lineage.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023