Shieldbacked

Shieldbacked is a descriptive term used in biology to indicate that an organism or structure has a shield-shaped back. The word is most often encountered in entomology, where it appears in common names for a number of true bugs whose dorsal shield is a conspicuous feature. In many shield-backed bugs, the shield results from a pronounced pronotum and an enlarged scutellum that covers part or all of the abdomen, giving the insect a flattened, shield-like profile. This morphology aids camouflage and protection, and it is a characteristic used in field guides and identification keys for several insect groups.

Outside contemporary insects, shieldbacked is also used in paleontology and comparative anatomy to describe extinct arthropods or other animals that display a hard, protective dorsal plate described as a shield. The term remains descriptive rather than taxonomic; it can apply to multiple lineages that arrived at a shield-like dorsum independently.

Because shieldbacks are defined by morphology rather than strict phylogeny, the precise relationships of shield-backed organisms vary among groups, and the term is not itself a formal taxonomic rank. When used, it is typically supplemented with more specific taxonomic information (for example, naming the family or genus).