A
claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most
amniotes (
mammals,
reptiles,
birds). However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an
invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in
arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end of the leg or
tarsus for gripping a surface as the creature walks. Crabs', lobsters' and scorpions' pincers, or more formally, their "
chelae", are sometimes called claws.