Pl. thelyca. [mod.L., ad. Gr. θηλυκόν, neuter of θηλυκός feminine, f. θῆλυ-ς female.] Name for a structure on the ventral surface of the thorax in the female of certain macrurous crustaceans.
1838. C. S. Bate, in Challenger Rep., XXIV. 244. The ventral plate or thelycam in the female [Penæus canaliculatus]. Ibid., 245. The peculiar formation of the complementary external female apparatus which I propose to call thelycum.
