Telson:
The telson is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on account of not arising in the embryo from teloblast areas as other segments.[1] It never carries any appendages, but a forked “tail” called the caudal furca may be present. The shape and composition of the telson differs between arthropod groups. [Wikipedia]
Noted in “Scorpions develop a sting in the tail before they are ready to use it,” James Urquhart, NewScientist (18 September 2021):
Songryong Li at Wuhan University in China and his colleagues studied two-day old Chinese scorpions (Mesobuthus martensii), which are translucent and still embryo-like, and found they already had venom stored in the end of their tail, or telson. However, their stinger was blunt and venom exit ducts were blocked, enabling the toxin to pool inside the tail.
