Crustaceans
In lobsters, shrimp and other decapods, the telson, along with the uropods, forms the tail fan. This is used as a paddle in the caridoid escape reaction ("lobstering"), whereby an alarmed animal rapidly flexes its tail, causing it to dart backwards. Krill can reach speeds of over 60 cm per second by this means. The trigger time to optical stimulus is, in spite of the low temperatures, only 55 milliseconds. In the Isopoda and Tanaidacea (superorder Peracarida), the last abdominal body segment is fused with the telson, forming a "pleotelson".Chelicerates
The term ''telson'' is widely used for the caudal spine of some chelicerates. The chelicerate telson can be clearly seen in a number of fossil species (like in eurypterids) and in extant animals (like the horseshoe crab "tail" and the scorpion sting). Some authorities have urged that the usage of this word in this context be discouraged.Myriapods
In millipedes, the telson consists of a legless pre-anal body segment (which may contain a posterior extension known as an ''epiproct''), a pair of anal valves (''paraprocts'') or plates closing off the anus, and a plate below the anus (''hypoproct''), also known as a subanal scale. In centipedes the telson is the rear-most body segment, posterior to the genital openings, bearing two anal valves.Hexapods
Proturans, an order of minute soil-dwelling animals, are the only hexapods with a telson.See also
*References
{{reflist Crustacean anatomy Arthropod anatomy