furca

plural furcae

1. biologyA forked structure, a fork-like part.

   Сaudal duct splits up in front of furcae into two canals reaching middle of furcae, where it opens with pores.

   2023 July, A.V. Izrailskaia, V.V. Besprozvannykh, “Neodiplostomum cf. seoulense (Seo, Rim, Lee, 1964) sensu Pyo et al., 2014 (Trematoda: Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886): morphology, life cycle, and phylogenetic relationships”, in Journal of Helminthology, volume 97, →DOI, page 5

   2 more examples

   It has a mesosternum with well-developed, sessile furca. The arms of the mesosternal furca have a broad median and strictured and hemispherical apical part.

   2024, Mariusz Kanturski, Yerim Lee, “Miyalachnus—A New Lachninae Aphid Genus from Japan (Insecta, Hemiptera, Aphididae)”, in Insects, volume 15, number 3, →DOI, page 210

   Insects like grasshoppers use a specialized structure called the furca to facilitate jumping. The furca operates as a spring, compressing until a critical point is reached, where potential energy converts to kinetic energy, enabling a powerful jump.

   2025 January 12, David Grimaldi, “Which Insects Move By Jumping?”, in Entomology Club, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2025