# Raptorial

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Raptorial
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Raptorial.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptorial
> Source revision: 1344182588
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Arthropod leg capable of grasping prey

The raptorial foreleg of a [praying mantis](/source/Praying_mantis)

[Mantispid](/source/Mantispid) lacewing, showing raptorial forelegs

In [biology](/source/Biology) (specifically the [anatomy](/source/Anatomy) of [arthropods](/source/Arthropod)), the term ***raptorial*** implies much the same as *[predatory](/source/Predator)* but most often refers to modifications of an [arthropod's foreleg](/source/Arthropod_leg) that make it function for the grasping of prey while it is consumed, where the gripping surfaces are formed from the opposing faces of two successive leg [segments](/source/Segmentation_(biology)) (*see illustration*).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

This is distinctly different from the grasping mechanism of a structure such as a [scorpion](/source/Scorpion)'s claw (a "[chela](/source/Chela_(organ))") in which one of the opposing surfaces is an articulated digit, and not a leg segment. While this is most widely known in [mantises](/source/Mantodea), similarly modified legs can be found in some [crustaceans](/source/Crustacea) (e.g., [mantis shrimp](/source/Mantis_shrimp)), and various [insect](/source/Insect) families, such as [Mantispidae](/source/Mantispidae), [Belostomatidae](/source/Belostomatidae), [Nepidae](/source/Nepidae), and [Naucoridae](/source/Naucoridae) (all members of these groups have raptorial forelegs).[1] There are numerous other lineages within various insect families that have raptorial forelegs, most commonly seen in the family [Reduviidae](/source/Reduviidae), but also including several different families of [flies](/source/Fly), and a few [thrips](/source/Thrips). The arachnid lineage [Amblypygi](/source/Amblypygi) also has similar-functioning [pedipalps](/source/Pedipalp).

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Weirauch, Christiane; Forero, Dimitri; Jacobs, Dawid (2011). ["On the evolution of raptorial legs – an insect example (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae)"](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00325.x). *Cladistics*. **27** (2): 138–149. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00325.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1096-0031.2010.00325.x). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [34875772](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34875772). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [85020081](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:85020081). Retrieved 24 August 2021.

This insect anatomy–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

- [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Insect-anatomy-stub)
- [t](/source/Template_talk%3AInsect-anatomy-stub)
- [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Insect-anatomy-stub)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Raptorial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptorial) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptorial?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.