scolex

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σκώληξ (skṓlēx, “worm”).

noun

1. (zoology) The structure at the front end of a tapeworm which, in the adult, has suckers and hooks by which it attaches itself to a host.
   The head, with the circle of hooklets and the four suckers, is then formed at the anterior part of the embryo, constituting now the scolex of Van Beneden. 1859, Robert Bentley Todd, The Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology