Tergum

: terga, associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head.

A given tergum may be divided into hardened plates or sclerites commonly referred to as tergites.

[1] In a thoracic segment, for example, the tergum may be divided into an anterior notum and a posterior scutellum.

Lateral extensions of a tergite are known as paranota (Greek for "alongside the back") or carinae (Latin for "keel"), exemplified by the flat-backed millipedes of the order Polydesmida.

[2] Tergo-tergal is a stridulatory mechanism in which fine spines of the abdominal tergites are rubbed together to produce sound.