Hemideina ricta The thorax contains the front, middle and hind legs of the weta, each leg is made up of six segments; the coxa, the trochanter, the femur, the tibia, the tarsus and the pretarsus. The ear of the weta can be found at the top of the tibia near the knee joint of the front legs. The tibia of the hind legs are covered in spines, that can be rubbed against the stridulatory ridges on the side of the body to produce a sound, these can also be used as a defence mechanism against predators. Banks Peninsula tree weta can be
Stifle joint stabilized by paired collateral ligaments which act to prevent abduction/adduction at the joint, as well as paired cruciate ligaments. The cranial cruciate ligament and the caudal cruciate ligament restrict cranial and caudal translation (respectively) of the tibia on the femur. The cranial cruciate also resists over-extension and inward rotation, and is the most commonly damaged stifle ligament in dogs. 'Cushioning' of the joint is provided by two C-shaped pieces of cartilage called menisci which sit between the medial and lateral condyles of the distal femur and the tibial plateau. The main biomechanical function of the menisci is probably to divide