billhook

→ Irish: bileog

→ Welsh: bilwg

Earliest use in weapon (and later, agricultural) sense, bill (“a bladed pike”) + hook; other senses formed anew from various meanings of bill.

(ornithology) (written as bill hook) A sharply pointed spike growing from the tip of the upper mandible of the hatchlings of honeyguides, used to destroy the eggs and kill the chicks of the host species.


spinneret

A multipored device through which a plastic polymer melt is extruded into fibers.


mouffle

The young wolves divided the spoil into four portions ; but one of them retained the tongue and the other the mouffle (upper lip), which are the chief delicacies of the animal.

1923, Sir James George Frazer, Folk-lore in the Old Testament:

(Canada) The loose covering around the nose and upper lips of the moose or elk. Prized for stewing or roasting.


hind limb

Coordinate term: forelimb

A posterior limb on an animal. When referring to quadrupeds, the term hind leg is often instead used.


scut

Uncertain, possibly a variant of scout (“(obsolete except Scotland) contemptible person”), possibly related to scout (“to reject with contempt; to scoff”), from a North Germanic language; compare Old Norse skúta, skúte (“a taunt”), probably from Proto-Germanic *skeutaną (“to shoot”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to shoot; to throw”). Compare Old Norse skútyrði, skotyrði (“abusive language”).

cog

"I'll have no more of it. I'll have no more Dinny Ryans handlin' flesh and blood of my gettin'. Ye'd see me dyin' for a sup of drink to give me peace, and you philanderin' and danderin' with yon scut of a fellow, and worse doin's behind that, if the truth is told."

1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 195:

She didn't need a new dress! Me money! Me hard earned three hundred that I scraped and scrimped for. Me scut of a daughter puttin' it on her back in finery.

1947, Paul Vincent Carroll, The Wise Have Not Spoken: A Drama in Three Acts (French’s Acting Edition; no. 308), London: French, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, 1954, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 49:

I dreamt that Ruairi Quinn was smokin' marijuana in the Dail. Barry Desmond handing Frenchies out to scuts in Fianna Fail.

1985, “Delerium Tremens” (track 2), in Ordinary Man, performed by Christy Moore:

CHRIS. Danny Bradley is a scut, Rose. / ROSE. I never said it was Danny Bradley! / CHRIS. He's a married man with three young children.

1993, Brian Friel, Dancing at Lughnasa, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, →ISBN, act I, page 14:

Ruth had snapped open her purse and pulled out a small gun. I grabbed her arm and yanked her into the car; she squawked and her shot went wide. [...] "You scut," she said as we hit the entrance ramp of the interstate. "You're a scut-pumping Conservative. You made me miss."

1997, John Kessel, “The Pure Product”, in The Pure Product: Stories (Tom Doherty Associates Book), New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, →ISBN; republished in Harry Turtledove, with Martin H[arry] Greenberg, editors, The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, Ballantine Books, 2005, →ISBN, page 322:

Fat-headed scut. That's what he is, scut. Thinks he runs the whole river.

2005, Dean Whitlock, chapter 12, in Sky Carver, New York, N.Y.: Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 108:

(chiefly Ireland, colloquial) A contemptible person.


occipital

Borrowing from Middle French occipital, from Medieval Latin occipitālis, from occiput (“the back of the head, occiput”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix), equivalent of occiput + -al. Doublet of occipitalis.

af

(zootomy) An occipital scale in reptiles.


exopodite

(zoology) The external part of the uropod.


mandibular

The head produces a mandibular gland pheromone composed of ketones, the thorax lacks large glands, and the abdomen contains the venom and the Nasonov gland that produces lemon oil compounds.

2016, Justin O. Schmidt, The Sting of the Wild, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 28:

(anatomy, zootomy) Of or pertaining to the mandible.


caruncle

/kəˈɹʌŋ.kəl/

/kəˈɹʌŋ.kl̩/

/ˈkɛɹˌʌŋ.kəl/

/ˈkæˌɹʌŋ.kəl/

/kəˈɹʌŋ.kəl/

Borrowed from Middle French caruncule, from Latin caruncula (“a little piece of flesh”), diminutive of carō (“flesh”). Doublet of caruncula.

der

(anatomy, zootomy) A small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy.


frontlet

From Old French frontelet, diminutive of frontel.


carnassial

/kəˈnɑːsɪəl/

One of the teeth used by a carnivore for shearing flesh, being the last upper premolar and the first lower molar.


forelimb

Coordinate term: hind limb

The anterior limb (or equivalent appendage) of an animal


whalebone

en-noun

whalebone (countable and uncountable, plural whalebones)

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“You have probably never seen anything like this before, Mr. Toler. It is baleen, or if you prefer it, whalebone, taken from the mouth of the bowhead whale. It is used by the whale to filter its food.”

1954, Alexander Alderson, chapter 5, in The Subtle Minotaur:

The horny material from the fringed plates of the upper jaw of baleen whales that are used to filter plankton; once used as stays in corsets

балена

horny material from fringed plates of upper jaw of baleen whale


telson

Borrowed from Ancient Greek τέλσον (télson, “headland”).

bor

Although Crangonya evidently comes very close to Niphargus, it appears to be a good genus, and to differ constantly from Niphargus in the more robust body and in the telson, which is always entire and never cleft as in Niphargus.

1894, Charles Chilton, “The Subterranean Crustacea of New Zealand”, in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 2nd Series, Volume VI: Zoology, Linnean Society of London, page 219:

The basic number of segments in the abdomen is eleven plus the postsegmental telson which bears the anus, although Matsuda (1976) regards the telson as a twelfth segment.

1998, R. F. Chapman, The Insects: Structure and Function, 4th edition, Cambridge University Press, page 259:

The two documented examples of telson abnormalities are on juvenile moults (Fig. 2a, b).

2022, Russell D. C. Bicknell et al., “Applying Records of Extant and Extinct Horseshoe Crab Abnormalities to Xiphosurid Conservation”, in John T. Tanacredi et al., editors, International Horseshoe Crab Conservation and Research Efforts: 2007-2020, Springer, page 88:

(zoology) The part of an arthropod or crustacean posterior to the last segment, often resembling an armored tail or tip of the tail.


dewclaw

Uncertain first element + claw. Compare dewlap. One suggestion, possibly a folk etymology, is that dewclaws brush dew away.

A vestigial digit, hoof or claw that does not reach the ground.

زمعة

a vestigial digit, hoof or claw that does not reach the ground


maxillary

Borrowed from Latin māxillāris (“of or belonging to the jaw”), from māxilla (“the jawbone, jaw”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to maxilla + -ary.

af

(zootomy) Of or pertaining to the maxillae of an arthropod.


gambrel

Uncertain, perhaps from Old Northern French gamberel, from gambe (“leg”).


merrythought

From merry + thought, traditionally explained with reference to the pleasant thoughts imagined when the bone is ritually broken.

One puts yᵉ merrithought on his nose (slightly) like a paire of spectacles, and shakes his head till he shakes it off his nose.

1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 93:

All Birds want the Channel-bones in the Breast, instead whereof they have a bone, which we call the Merry thought.

1688, Randle Holme, The Academy of Armory, Chester, Book 2, Chapter 13, p. 307:

Mrs. Knipp. (picking up from Ming's plate the merrythought on which her eye has just fallen, and holding it up). A merrythought. Who will pull this merrythought with me ? Nay (as they all lean forward), 'tis an affair of two not four. (They draw back simultaneously, eying each other sheepishly when Mrs. KNIPP laughs at their confusion).

1906, William Price Drury, Richard Pryce, A Privy Council: A Comedy in One Act, page 22:


palpebral

Borrowed from Late Latin palpebrālis (“of or on the eyelids”), from palpebra (“an eyelid”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix), equivalent to palpebra + -al.

af

(zootomy) A dermal bone found near the eye socket of some animals.


periostracum

Literally "surrounding shell", from peri- + ostracum.

(malacology) The proteinaceous outer sheath of many molluscan shells.


ostracum

From New Latin ostracum, from Ancient Greek ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “pottery fragment; shell”).


pleopod

From pleon (“the abdomen of a crustacean”) + -pod (“foot”).

af

Coordinate term: uropod

In decapods such as lobsters, pleopods are legs mainly used for swimming but sometimes used for brooding eggs or catching food. In some species certain pleopods of an animal may have been adapted to special functions such as reproduction.

(zoology) One of the abdominal legs of a crustacean.


swimmeret

(zoology) In decapods such as lobsters, one of the legs primarily used for swimming but also used for brooding the eggs (except in prawns) and catching food.


cannon bone

A bone resulting from the fusion of metacarpals or metatarsals in some artiodactyls.


book lung

In addition to book lungs most spiders also have a second respiratory system in the form of paired tracheae; Atypus has none.

1996, Michael J. Roberts, Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe, page 16:

(arachnology) A lamellate respiratory organ found in arachnids.


gill raker

(ichthyology) A bony, finger-like projection of the gill arch filaments of fish, used for food retention in some species.


vestibulum

Unadapted borrowing from Latin vestibulum (“a forecourt, entrance court; an entrance”). Doublet of vestibule.

ubor

(zootomy) A cavity into which, in certain bryozoans, the esophagus and anus open.


venter

Borrowing from Latin venter (“the belly; the womb; a swelling”).

bor

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(biology) A protuberant, usually hollow structure, notably:

(zootomy) The undersurface of the abdomen of an arthropod.


branchia

From Latin branchia, from Ancient Greek βράγχια (bránkhia, “gills”).

der

A gill or other organ having the same function


rachis

From New Latin rachis, from Ancient Greek ῥάχις (rhákhis, “spine, ridge”).

(obsolete, zoology, anatomy) The spinal column, or the vertebrae of the spine.


gas bladder

Nicknamed a "manta" by Andromeda Initiative observers, this majestic creature has been sighted on several worlds in the Heleus Cluster. The Nexus scientists believe it may have originally evolved on a world with heavy deposits of element zero, giving it the ability to lower its mass enough to "swim" through the air. Expanding the muscular gas bladders on its underside allows the creature to rise and orient itself in flight.

2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Andromeda Wildlife: Manta Codex entry:

(ichthyology) An internal organ that fish use to control their buoyancy, allowing them to maintain or change depth by changing their density.


vocal sac

The flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs, used for amplification of the voice.

häälepõis

flexible voice-amplifying membrane of male frog


Weberian ossicle

en-noun

Weberian ossicle (plural Weberian ossicles)

(ichthyology) One of a chain of small bones that connect the auditory system to the air bladder of teleost fishes.


omasum

The deer of the northern group are larger in body size and have well-developed rumino-reticulums, smaller omasums, and longer small intestines (Takatsuki 1988).

2009, Seiki Takatsuki, “17: Geographical Variations in Food Habits of Sika Deer: The Northern Grazer vs. the Southern Browser”, in Dale R. McCullough, Seiki Takatsuki, Koichi Kaji, editors, Sika Deer: Biology and Management of Native and Introduced Populations, Springer, page 235:

The omasum is a spherical organ filled with muscular laminae (an estimated 90 to 130 in the bovine omasum) that lie in sheets, much like the pages of a book (giving the omasum its colloquial name, book stomach).

2018, Anna Dee Fails, Christianne Magee, Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Wiley Blackwell, page 385:

The role of the omasum is not entirely clear. The organ fills with very fluid digesta leaving the reticulo-rumen, but omasal contents are very dry and tightly compacted. Clearly, fluid absorption takes place in the omasum and in cattle, water, electrolytes and VFA^([volatile fatty acids]) are absorbed.

2019, Philip Hynd, Animal Nutrition, CSIRO Publishing, unnumbered page:

Finally, grazers, with the higher fluid throughput through the reticulorumen, require larger omasa (Table 4.6)—with the main function of omasa being the resorption of fluid, to prevent too diluted digesta reaching the sites of auto-enzymatic digestion (Clauss et al. 2006).

2019, Daryl Codron, Reinhold R. Hofmann, Marcis Clauss, “Chapter 4: Morphological and Physiological Adaptations for Browsing and Grazing”, in Iain J. Gordon, Herbert H. T. Prins, editors, The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing II, Springer, page 109:

(biology, food) The third compartment of the stomach of a ruminant; the lining of said compartment, regarded as a foodstuff.

أُمّ التَلَافِيف

the third part of the stomach of a ruminant


scaphognathite

Indeed, they possess not only a ventilatory system, composed of two scaphognathites ventilating a domiciliar cavity, but also a cardiovascular system composed of a well-differentiated heart and, in the Cylindroleberid family, 6-8 lamellar gills (Vannier et al., 1996; Horne et al., 2002).

2005, Journal of Experimental Biology - Volume 208, Issue 3, page 662:

(biology) A thin appendage that draws water through the gills of decapods


stylet

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From French stylet (“stiletto”), from Middle French stilet (“stiletto”), from Old Italian stiletto. Doublet of stiletto.


basal bristle

(ornithology) A small feather located at the base of a bird's bill that has little or no vane.


mouthpart

The fans, or brushes, create currents in the water that direct food toward the larvae’s mouthparts and help stuff the food into their deeply concealed mouths.

(usually in the plural) An appendage-like structure on the outside of an insect's or other arthropod's mouth, serving to manipulate and masticate food.


phasmid

From Latin phasma (“apparition, specter, phantom”) + -id (nominal suffix), from Ancient Greek φάσμα (phásma, “apparition, phantom”).

der

A giant phasmid (or stick insect) from India whose cage was over two metres tall spent long hours standing upon a perpendicular branch and staring into Mother's eyes.

1993, Rikki Ducornet, The Jade Cabinet, Dalkey Archive Press, page 19:

(entomology) Any insect of the order Phasmida: a leaf insect or walking stick (stick insect).


corbicula

A learned borrowing from Latin corbicula, diminutive of corbis, a basket. Doublet of corbeil.

(entomology) A bee's pollen basket; in honeybees and close relatives, the corbiculae are located on the outer (lateral) surface of the hind tibia.


rectrix

From Latin rectrix, feminine form of rector (“one who directs”).

A flight feather on the tails of birds, used for directional control.


fore wing

hind wing

antonym(s) of “wing closest to the head”

(entomology, in an insect) Either member of the pair of wings closest to the head.


hind wing

(entomology, in an insect with two pairs of wings) Either member of the pair of wings closer to the tail.


imaginal disc

1982, John Feltwell, Large White Butterfly: The Biology, Biochemistry, and Physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus), Kluwer Academic (Dr W. Junk Publishers), page 142,
The arrangement of the imaginal discs (buds) in situ in the anterior of the larva of P. brassicae has been illustrated by Gonin (1894) and their development has been shown in a series of six diagrams by Mercier in Portier (1949).

Experiments in which cells have been selectively destroyed by X-irradiation have shown that formation of imaginal discs occurs very early in embryogenesis and at specific sites.

2005, Cedric Gillott, Entomology, 3rd edition, Springer, page 634:

The developing BO^([Bolwig's organ, or larval eye]) is drawn inward at head involution, whereas the future imaginal disc cells invaginate to form a pouch in the late embryo that later forms the eye antenna imaginal disc.

2005, David J. Merritt, “Chapter 7: Evolution and Development of the Dipteran Nervous System”, in Brian Wiegmann, David K. Yeates, editors, The Evolutionary Biology of Flies, Columbia University Press, page 189:

(entomology) Any of several pairs of discs within the body of a larva that become part of the outside during the pupal stage of holometabolism (complete metamorphosis).


endopodite

(biology) The innermost of two processes attached to the basal process of the limbs of some Crustacea.


acidopore

(zoology, rare) A conical structure with a small terminal opening, at the posterior end of an ant’s gaster through which it sprays formic acid and associated hydrocarbons, collectively comprising the venom. This structure is unique to, but characteristic of all members of the ant subfamily Formicinae.


curple

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The hindquarters or the rump of a horse, a strap under the girth of a horse's saddle to stop the saddle from kicking forward


radula

/ˈɹæd͡ʒ.ʊ.lə/

The radula end containing the first 5–10 rows of teeth showed evidence of wear from rasping over rock surfaces during feeding and was removed using dissection.

2015 February 18, Asa H. Barber, Dun Lu, Nicola M. Pugno, “Extreme strength observed in limpet teeth”, in Journal of the Royal Society Interface:

What Kruta found in the ammonoid fossils was an unfoldable radula covered with delicate, comblike teeth.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 98:

(zoology) The rasping tongue of snails and all other mollusks except bivalves.

raastinkieli

the rasping tongue of snails and most other molluscs


exite

An additional lobe on the outer side of the protopodite of a crustacean limb.


nuchal

Borrowed from Medieval Latin nuchālis, from nucha + -ālis, from Arabic نُخَاع (nuḵāʕ, “spinal cord”).

nuchal translucency scan
nuchal translucency scan#English

(medicine, colloquial) Short for nuchal translucency scan.


gaster

Borrowing from Ancient Greek γᾰστήρ (gastḗr, “paunch, belly”).

bor

(zootomy, entomology) The enlarged part of the abdomen behind the petiole in hymenopterous insects (such as ants).


rennet stomach

The fourth stomach of a ruminant, the abomasum.


manyplies

Now, in the process of returning the macerated food for re-mastication, it is the cud-duct, together with the shut termination of the gullet approached to the shut inlet of the manyplies, which forms the pellets.

1855, The Plough, the Loom, and the Anvil, Volume 7, page 343:

Through this contact the œsophageal pillars shorten so as to draw up the opening into the manyplies nearer to the reticulum, at the same time turning spirally on their own axes, the lefthand pillar being extended downward and to the right.

1890, Robert Meade Smith, The Physiology of the Domestic Animals, F. A. Davis, page 377:

The reticulum opens into the psalterium or manyplies (the third compartment) by a small aperture, and its lining membrane is thrown into longitudinal folds resembling the leaves of a book. The fourth compartment, into which the manyplies opens, is called the abomasum or rennet.

1896, “Ruminantia”, in R. W. Egerton Eastwick, editor, The Oracle Encyclopaedia, Volume 5, George Newnes Limited, page 111:

Synonym of omasum (“compartment of the stomach of a ruminant”)


psalterium

Learned borrowing from Latin psalterium, from Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion). Doublet of psalter, psalterion, and psaltery.

doublet

A psaltery (zither-like musical instrument)


bastard wing

A tuft of feathers borne by the bony thumb-like structure in a bird's wing; alula.


amphid

From Ancient Greek ἀμφιδέα (amphidéa, “anything that binds or is bound around”), from ἀμφιδέω (amphidéō, “to bind around”) + -ᾱ (-ā, action noun suffix).

af

(nematology) One of a pair of chemosensory sense organs positioned laterally on the head of a nematode.

anfídio

chemosensory organ positioned laterally on the head of nematodes


eyering

A colored circle around the eye of a bird.


statolith

The statolith is either acquired from the animal's surroundings or secreted by the epithelial cells of the statocyst.

2002, David Randall, Eckert Animal Physiology, page 242:

When the squid (or other cephalopod) accelerates, the statolith is pressed back in its “seat” like a person in a car.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 110:

en:type of amyloplast for graviperception

A specialized form of amyloplast involved in graviperception by plant roots and most invertebrates.


croche

Borrowed from Middle French croche, equivalent to English crochet (“hook”), croc (“hook”), from Frankish *krok (“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krukaz, *krōkaz (“something bent, hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, bend, wind”). Cognate with Old Norse krókr (“hook”).

der

(obsolete) A little bud or knob at the top of a deer's antler, or as the predevelopmental stage of the antler.


metathorax

en-noun

metathorax (plural metathoraxes or metathoraces)

metathoraxes (plural)
metathoraces (plural)

Holonym: thorax

Comeronyms: prothorax, mesothorax

(entomology) The hindmost of the three sections of the thorax of an insect, carrying the posterior pair of legs and the hindwings when present.

zadohruď

the hindmost of the three sections of the thorax of an insect


underwing

A member of the genus Catocala, a nocturnal moth which usually has brightly coloured underwings.


hypostome

(anatomy) Any of certain mouth appendages of some insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and hydrozoa; in particular:

The ventral mouthpart plate in trilobites;

The barbed attachment structure associated with the mouthparts of parasitic arachnids (e.g. ticks);

The oral tip surrounded by tentacles in hydrozoan cnidarians.

This mode of attachment and support of the hypostome in proparian trilobites is also shown by Öpik's work (1938, and references) and by Whittington (1941b, p. 514-517) and Evitt and Whittington (1953).

1953, H. B. Whittington, W. R. Evitt, Memoir 59: Silicified Middle Ordovician Trilobites, Geological Society of America, page 20:

2012, Georgia E. Lesh-Laurie, Chapter 5. Expression and Maintenance of Organismic Polarity, Allison L. Burnett (editor), Biology of Hydra, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (Academic Press), pages 160-161,
As a result or these interactions, the presence of a hypostome inhibits the formation of another hypostome nearby. Removal of the hypostome causes the level of inhibition to fall; regeneration of it restores this level (Webster, 1966).

2020, Fatma El-Bawab, Invertebrate Embryology and Reproduction, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 251,
The polyps of the two observed populations of Alatina cf. moseri showed no distinct differences. […] The body of the polyp is divided into three parts: the hypostome, the calyx and a stalk region. The latter includes a basal disc and a tiny periderm beaker enveloping the pedal region. The hypostome of polyps of both populations was four-lipped (Fig. 5.33F and G), balloon-shaped and ~14%–15% of the total body length (TBL). It was not completely contractible into the body.

2022, Alan Gunn, Sarah J. Pitt, Parasitology: An Integrated Approach, 2nd edition, Wiley, page 191,
Figure 7.4 Argas persicus […] (b) Hypostome of larval stage. The toothed hypostome is easily visible in the larval stage.


lobopod

The early lobopods have a melange of characteristics that makes their position on the tree of life difficult to pin down.

2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 261:

(zoology) A panarthropod of the extinct phylum †Lobopodia.


cotyle

cotyle (plural cotyles or cotylae or cotylai)

cotyles (plural)
cotylae (plural)
cotylai (plural)

From Latin cotylē and Ancient Greek κοτύλη (kotúlē, “cup, half-pint”). Doublet of kotyle and kotylos.

der

(zootomy) Synonym of acetabulum (“any of various cup-shaped joints, organs, or skin features in various animals”).


maxilliped

One of the appendages on the heads of centipedes and some crustaceans behind the maxillae, used for feeding. The maxillipeds, known as forcipules, give centipedes their scientific name, Chilopoda (lip-foot).


sensillum

Borrowed from German Sensillum, from New Latin sensillum, diminutive of Latin sēnsus (“perception, feeling”). Coined by German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician and artist Ernst Haeckel in Systematische Phylogenie (1895).

coinage

(zoology) A sensory receptor in certain invertebrates, especially arthropods.


cuttlebone

From Middle English cotilbone [and other forms], from cotil, cutil, codel (“cuttlefish; cuttlebone”) (from Old English cudele (“cuttlefish”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, to curve; an arch; a vault”)) + bon (“bone”) (from Old English bān (“bone”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike; to cut, hew”)). The English word is analysable as cuttle (“cuttlefish”) + bone.

inh

cuttlefish bone

Synonym of cuttlefish bone (“the calcareous, oval-shaped internal shell of a cuttlefish (order Sepiida), originally used in powdered form as an antacid and for absorbing moisture or polishing objects, and now chiefly as a dietary supplement for cage birds”)


Jacobson's organ

en-noun

Jacobson's organ (plural Jacobson's organs)

After Ludwig Lewin Jacobson (1783–1843), Danish surgeon, who discovered it in 1813.

The vomeronasal organ, an auxiliary olfactory sense organ found in many animals.


phragmocone

This ability to continuously add new buoyancy chambers to their phragmocones allowed ancient cephalopods to reach truly stupendous sizes.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 37:

(malacology) The chambered portion of the shell of certain cephalopods, divided by septa into camerae.


siphuncle

An extra-salty siphuncle naturally absorbs water from the phragmocone chambers, and the empty space left behind is filled with gases diffusing out from the blood.

(zoology) A strand of tissue passing longitudinally through the shell of a cephalopod, used primarily in emptying water from new chambers as the shell grows.


carpometacarpus

(anatomy) The fusion of digits (carpals and metacarpals) that forms the wing in birds.


eyestalk

(anatomy) A motile stalk having an eye at the tip.


flight feather

(ornithology) Any asymmetrical feather of the wing or tail of a bird.


pin bone

A long, thin bone in a fish extending sideways from the backbone.


illicium

(ichthyology) The modified dorsal fin on the head of anglerfish, acting as a lure.


actinost

From New Latin, from Ancient Greek ἀκτίς (aktís, “ray”) + ὀστέον (ostéon, “bone”).

The second well-developed actinost is below the vertebra supporting the subcaudal blood-vessels, but that is not so strong proximally as the first; the ribs are not directed downwards, but backwards, and are entirely separated from each other.

1889, Dr. G. Baur, “On the morphology of ribs and the fate of the actinosts of the median fin in fishes”, in Journal of morphology, volume 3:

(ichthyology) A bone at the base of a paired fin (of a fish)


piriformis

/ˌpɪ.ɹɪˈfɔː.mɪs/

/ˌpɪɹ.əˈfɔɹ.mɪs/

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin pirifōrmis, ellipsis of mūsculus pirifōrmis (“pear-shaped muscle”). Doublet of piriform.

ellipsis

sacrotuberous ligament
sacrotuberous ligament

greater sciatic foramen
greater sciatic foramen

(anatomy, zootomy) A gluteal muscle which arises from the front of the sacrum and the ischium or sacrotuberous ligament, passes out of the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen, and inserts into the greater trochanter of the femur, serving in humans to rotate the thigh laterally.


supraclavicular

From supra- + clavicular or supraclavicle + -ar.

(anatomy, zootomy, relational) Above the clavicle.

(rare, zootomy, relational) Of or pertaining to the supraclavicle in fishes.


petrosal

From Latin petrōsus (“full of rocks, rocky”) + -al.

af

midal-shaped petrosal of mammals and bird

1866, Richard Owen, Anatomy of Vertebrates:

(anatomy, zootomy) The auditory capsule.


aptychus

Modern Latin, from a- + Ancient Greek πτυχή (ptukhḗ, “fold, layer”).

uder

It wasn't until the 1970s that paleontologists had amassed enough evidence to be certain that aptychi were modified lower jaws.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 95:

(paleontology) A hard calcareous plate forming part of the body of an ammonite.


third eye

A personal source of psychic visions and clairvoyance according to certain spiritual beliefs.


prothorax

en-noun

prothorax (plural prothoraxes or prothoraces)

prothoraxes (plural)
prothoraces (plural)

Holonym: thorax

Comeronyms: mesothorax, metathorax

(entomology) The anterior segment of the insect thorax; it carries the first pair of legs.


pereiopod

Any of the thoracic appendages of a decapod that are used for walking (and for gathering food)


jugulum

Borrowing from New Latin jugulum (“the collarbone; the hollow part of the neck above the collarbone; the throat”), diminutive of jugum (“a yoke, collar”).

bor

(zootomy, of a bird) The lower throat or the part of the neck just above the breast.


ommatophore

From the stem form of Ancient Greek ὄμμα (ómma, “eye”) + -phore.


haustellum

A sucking organ, in the form of a proboscis, in many insects and crustaceans


rhinotheca

The hornlike covering of the upper part of a bird's beak


statocyst

Despite their tiny size, statocysts encode significant information about an animal's buoyancy and swimming ability, as we know from studying statocyst variability among modern cephalopods.

(zoology) An organ of balance found in some aquatic invertebrates, consisting of a sac-like structure containing a statolith and numerous innervated setae. Ancestral to vertebrate otolith (their organ of hearing and balance).


urite

Ancient Greek οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -ite.

(zoology) One of the segments of the abdomen or postabdomen of arthropods.


ventrum

(zootomy) abdomen, belly (especially of an animal)


hectocotylus

From New Latin, corresponding to hecto- + Ancient Greek κότυλος (kótulos, “small cup”).

der

When not in use, the male's hectocotylus hides in a pouch, leaving him to go about his business with only seven arms.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 170:

The hectocotylus, like many other genitals, is made of soft tissues which are unlikely to be fossilised.

2018 January 24, Elsa Panciroli, The Guardian:

(zoology) A modified arm of any of several male cephalopods that functions as a reproductive organ by transferring sperm to the mantle of the female.


topline

The edge that runs along the top of the opening of a shoe.


jugum

/ˈd͡ʒuː.ɡəm/

Borrowing from Latin jugum (“a yoke, collar; a pair of anything; the summit, ridge”). Doublet of yoke and yuga.

bor

(zootomy) A connecting ridge or projection, especially on a bone.


forcipule

A modified pincer-like foreleg or maxilliped in centipedes, capable of injecting venom.


endite

An additional lobe on the inner side of the protopodite of a crustacean limb.

One of the mouthparts of a spider or other arachnids, specifically the lobe of the palpal coxa lateral to the labium.


endite

en-verb

endite (third-person singular simple present endites, present participle enditing, simple past and past participle endited)

endites (present singular third-person)
enditing (participle present)
endited (participle past)
endited (past)

From a VVriter of Books, our Author is already dvvindled to a Preface-monger, and from Prefaces I am confident he may in a ſhort time be improved to endite Tickets for the Bear-Garden.

1672, [Andrew Marvell], The Rehearsal Transpros’d: Or, Animadversions upon a Late Book, Entituled, A Preface, Shewing what Grounds there are of Fears and Jealousies of Popery, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 4:


headstripe

A stripe of colored feathers on the head of a bird.


gnathotheca

The horny covering of the lower part of a bird's beak.


rhamphotheca

From Ancient Greek ῥάμφος (rhámphos, “beak”) + theca.

A thin horny sheath of keratin on the outer surface of a bird's beak


promuscis

en-noun

promuscis (plural promuscides or promusces)

(archaic) The proboscis of hemipteran insects.


arthroderm

(zoology) The external covering of an arthropod.


honeybag

good monsieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good monsieur, bring me the honey-bag

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

A pouch in a honey bee where it stores honey.


gnathite

(zoology) Any of the mouth appendages of the Arthropoda.


mesonotum

From New Latin, from Ancient Greek, meaning "middle of the back".

Frons mat black, orbits slightly paler, more greyish; mesonotum distinctly mat, greyish-black, but with some subshine; […]

2013, K. A. Spencer, Agromyzidae (Diptera) of Economic Importance, page 264:

(zoology) The dorsal portion of the mesothorax of insects.


septomaxillary

(anatomy) septomaxilla (small bone between the nasal septum and the maxilla in many reptiles and amphibians.)


cheliped

(anatomy) A leg bearing a chela, or pincer-like claw.


spilter

The little furrowes that run a long the head of a deer; The spilters, or broches of a deers head

1660, James Howell, Lexicon Tetraglotton:

(obsolete) Any of the small branches on a stag's head.


mastax

From Ancient Greek μάσταξ (mástax, “mouth, jaws”).

bor

(zoology) The pharynx of a rotifer. It usually contains four horny pieces. The two central ones form the incus, against which the mallei, or lateral ones, work so as to crush the food.


setula

From Latin setula, saetula, diminutive of seta, saeta (“bristle”).

(zoology) A small, short hair or bristle; a small seta


procerite

From pro- + Ancient Greek κέρας (kéras, “horn”) + -ite.

af

Merocerite or second joint also furnished with a few yellow hairs, like the carpocerite; terminal filament or procerite a little shorter than the carapace, multiarticulate and provided with long yellow verticilated hairs .

1881, Hermann Schlegel, Notes from the Leyden Museum - Volumes 3-4, page 133:

a third, fourth, and fifth joints, narrower than the preceding, and called respectively the ischiocerite, merocerite and carpocerite, and articulated with the last an extremely long many-jointed flagellum or procerite.

1882, William Aitcheson Haswell, Australian Museum, Catalogue of the Australian Stalk- and Sessile-eyed Crustacea, page ix:

In this genus, the basicerite, ischiocerite, and merocerite are much thicker and stronger than the corresponding joints of any of the other appendages; and in the closely allied Scyllarus, the facial region of which is, on the whole, similarly constructed, these joints become extremely expanded and flattened, and are succeeded by no procerite.

1888, Thomas Henry Huxley, A Manual of the Anatomy of Invertebrated Animals:

There is a large tuft of tactile setæ at the base of the procerite, and a few are continued from that point down the outer margin of the carpocerite; but all the setæ below that point on the upper surface are fringing setæ, as that part is covered by the antennules and the squame.

1888, G. Lovell Gulland, “The Sense of Touch in Astacus”, in Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, volume 9, page 162:

(zoology) The segment next to the flagellum of the antennae of crustaceans.


synsacrum

en-noun

synsacrum (plural synsacrums or synsacra)

(anatomy, ornithology) The bone in birds composed of the sacrum and some lumbar or caudal vertebrae fused together.


parotoid gland

An external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders, which secretes a milky alkaloid substance to deter predators.


noseleaf

noseleaf (plural noseleafs or noseleaves)

Vampire bats are capable of perceiving infrared radiation (heat) through the pocketings in their noseleaves that can allow them to find a feeding spot on their prey that is well supplied with blood vessels.

2011, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Mammalogy, page 23:

The elaborate structure of skin surrounding the nostrils of many species of bat.


abdominal fin

(ichthyology) One of the posterior paired fins of fishes; pelvic fin; ventral fin.


abdominal pore

(ichthyology) A pair of sphincters near the cloaca that allow for communication between the abdominal cavity and the exterior.


abdominal rib

(herpetology) Any of the riblike structures that cross the abdomen in lizards.


pannel

Old spelling of panel which became standard in falconry.

Glut is the slimy substance that lies in the hawk's pannel.

1860, John Potter Hamilton, Reminiscences of an Old Sportsman:

w:Webster's Dictionary#Webster's New International Dictionary 1909


hyoidean

From New Latin hȳoīdeus (“hyoid”) + -an.

(anatomy, zootomy, relational) Synonym of hyoid.


hyoideal

From New Latin hȳoīdeus (“hyoid”) + -al.


clawbed

The part of the body that houses a mammal's claw.


caruncula

Borrowed from Latin caruncula (“a little piece of flesh”). Doublet of caruncle.

bor

(anatomy, zootomy, botany) Synonym of caruncle.


cotyla

From Latin cotyla, from Ancient Greek κοτύλη (kotúlē, “cup, half-pint”).

der

Alternative form of cotyle (“in all senses”)


choana

Borrowing from New Latin choana, from Ancient Greek χοᾰ́νη (khoánē, “funnel”), from χέω (khéō, “to pour”) + -ᾰ́νη (-ánē, suffix for utensil names).

af

The choanal glands of caecilians open at the margin of the choanae, whereas those of salamanders open deep within the choanae at the margin of the olfactory epithelium.

1986, William E. Duellman, Biology of Amphibians, page 409:

Zuckerkandl (1893) gives far and away the greatest measurements for the choanae; Hopmann (1895) reported that in man the choana has a mean height of 27 mm, and a mean width of 13 mm (Merkel, 1896); in women it measures 25 x 12mm. These values agree closely with our findings.

1989, Johannes Lang, translated by P. M. Stell, Clinical Anatomy of the Nose, Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinuses, page 103:

Inside of this area it is possible to identify clearly two parallel echonegative zones, which belong to the nasal cavities (choanas) and are placed on both sides of a medial structure, considerably echogenic, which corresponds to nasal bridge (Fig. 2.12.)

2006, José María Carrera, Asim Kurjak, Donald School: Atlas of Clinical Application of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, India: Jaypee Brothers, page 14:

The bony rim of the posterior choana is located by passing the 4-mm microdebrider blade through the posterior ethmoids and into the nasopharynx. The tip of the microdebrider blade is pushed against the mucosa just above the bony choanae on the anterior face of the sphenoid.

2008, Peter-John Wormald, Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, 2nd edition, page 111:

(anatomy, zootomy) A pair of apertures towards the back of the nasal cavity, opening into the nasopharynx.


kype

From Scots kip, kipp (“something beaked or hooked”); perhaps related to Middle Low German kippe (“point, tip”), German Kippe (“stub”), both from Latin cippus (“stake, post, boundary marker”).

der

The hook that develops in the lower jaw of an adult male of most salmonid species when it is ready to spawn.

leuan koukku

hook in lower jaw of adult male salmonid


labyrinth organ

en-noun

labyrinth organ (plural labyrinth organs)

The labyrinth organ may work a bit like a lung, but it is an entirely different solution to the problem of how to remove oxygen from air.[…]The labyrinth organ is an effective adaptation to low-oxygen habitats.

2002, Gary Elson, Oliver Lucanus, Gouramies and Other Labyrinth Fishes, page 6:

The labyrinth organ fills most of the opercular cavity and is positioned behind and above the gill chamber and extends into the suprabranchial space; hence the name suprabranchial organ.

2008, Tim M. Berra, Freshwater Fish Distribution, page 480:

Anesthesia of fish with labyrinth organs (bettas, some gouramis, etc.) should be approached with caution. Owing to the unique anatomy of the labyrinth organ (enables fish to breathe atmospheric oxygen) and the gills of these fish (thick lamellae and ecreased lamellar surface area), it is possible to "drown" the fish if an overdose of an anesthetic agent is given.

2012, Helen E. Roberts, “MS 222 Anesthesia”, in Jörg Mayer, Thomas M. Donnelly, editors, Clinical Veterinary Advisor: Birds and Exotic Pets, page 513:

(zoology) An organ common to fish of the suborder Anabantoidei that enables them to breathe air.


tuel

When you do administer a Glister, you shall set the Horses hinder parts somewhat higher then the foreparts, and then you shall put the Glister-pipe in at his Tuel into his Fundament up to the head, and having the confection within the Bladder, wring it with a very good strength into his body. A Glister would be administred to a Horse when he is rather empty than full paunched, whether it be in the fore-noon or after-noon. Now for the retaining or holding of the Glister in the Horses body, three quarters of an hour is sufficient, of what quality soever it be. Now you are to note by the way, that as soon as the Glister is administred unto the Horses body, you must draw out the Pipe with all the gentleness that may be, and suddenly clap his tayl to his Tuel, and so hold it with your hand, without any moving or stirring of the Horse, till the Medicine hath his full time of working.

1610, Gervase Markham, Markham’s Masterpiece, London, Lib. 1, Cap. 100:

Goats when they are sucking on their dams or when they are new Kidded, will commonly have a great lax or squirt so that the ordure which cometh from them, if it be not well cleansed and taken from them, it will with their own naturalheat so bake and dry, that it will stop the Tuels, so that they cannot dung, which if it be not holpen, the Kid will dye. The cure is to cleanse the place, and open the Tuel, and then put into it an Inch or thereabout of small Candles end dipt in hony, and then anoint all the Tuel with Capons grease.

1614, Gervase Markham, Cheap and good husbandry, London, Lib. 1, Of Goats, Cap. 9:

مَرَاثٌ and ↓مَرْوَثٌ (M., Ḳ) The part whence the رَوْث (or dung) issues; (M;) the خَوْرَان [i.e. rectum, or the tuel,] of a horse. (Ḳ.)

1863, Edward William Lane, “tuel”, in Arabic-English Lexicon (in Arabic and English), London: Williams & Norgate, page 1177b


toepad

Eublepharid geckos lack adhesive toepads and, unlike other geckos, have movable eyelids.

A pad that forms the lower surface of the toe of certain animals.


basipodium

(zootomy) The carpus or tarsus of an animal or bird; the equivalent of the wrist or ankle in the human limbs


headshield

Two new molded fiber-glass plastic headshields for weldors are reported to offer the user lighter weight comfort with complete head protection from the welding arc and spatter.

1955, The Welding Engineer, volume 40, page 50:

A helmet or similar covering that protects the head.

Trilobites have a distinct headshield or cephalon and a distinct tailshield or pygidium, and in both these regions the original segmentation has been suppressed — more completely in the cephalon than in the pygidium — and [...]

1985, E. W. Nield, Ted Nield, V. C. T. Tucker, Palaeontology, an Introduction:


mediotergite

A broad convex area on the posterior end of the insect thorax between the subscutellum and the base of the abdomen


vitellarium

From New Latin, from vitellus (“yolk”) + -ārium (“place associated with”); equivalent to vitello- + -arium.

In the hymenolepid cestode Fimbriaria fasciolaris, the vitellaria and uterus are continuous throughout the strobila.

1988, K. G. Adiyodi, Reproductive Biology of Invertebrates, Accessory Sex Glands, page 41:

Germarium and vitellarium are distinct and the latter contains one or two small, immature basal oocytes.

2015 July 8, “Convergent Reduction of Ovariole Number Associated with Subterranean Life in Beetles”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

A type of gland, in flatworms and similar organisms, that secretes yolk.


postpetiole

Moreover, the beetle uses a row of scrapers (placed on the proximal abdominal segment) (Fig 1, 1B3 and 1B4 ) rather than the single scraper (placed on the postpetiole, i.e. the third abdominal tergite) used by the ant (Fig 1, 1A3 and 1A4 ).

2015 July 9, “The Pied Piper: A Parasitic Beetle’s Melodies Modulate Ant Behaviours”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

(anatomy, entomology) The second segment of the pedicel of some ants.


dead man's fingers

Any of several plants or other organisms with fleshy finger-like structures:


sarothrum

/səˈɹɑθ.ɹəm/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σάρωτρον (sárōtron, “a broom”).

bor

Any of the stiff hairs on a bee that collect pollen.


middle leg

(entomology) one of a leg in an arthropod that has three pairs thereof (e.g. butterflies, bees)


preatrium

Aedeagus in lateral view with preatrium well developed, almost as long as shaft, shaft slender, tubular, straight, diverging from line of preatrium about 30°, with membranous flanges on dorsal side variable in shape, dorsoatrium absent but with pair of ligaments connecting to anal tube laterally, in ventral view aedeagus shaft and preatrium nearly broadened at atrium, gonopore apical (Figs 4C, 4F–4I, 5A and 5G–5I ).

2015 October 1, “Clarification of the Identity of the Tea Green Leafhopper Based on Morphological Comparison between Chinese and Japanese Specimens”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

The region in front of the atrium (in gastropods)


cleithrum

From Ancient Greek κλεῖθρον (kleîthron).

The secondary arch consists of four pieces of bone, the posttemporal, supracleithrum, cleithrum and postcleithrum.[…]The cleithrum is the largest piece and the other elements are attached to it.

1993, J. J. Videler, Fish Swimming, Springer, page 66:

The main components of which are, from dorsal to ventral, the post-temporal, supracleithrum, cleithrum and the postcleithra.[…]The cleithra of either side of the body are connected with the pharyngeal jaw apparatus and with the urohyal by the bilateral pharyngocleithralis musculature and the median sternohyoideus muscle.

2000, Melanie L. J. Stiassny, “Chapter 6: The Skeletal System”, in Gary Kent Ostrander, editor, The Laboratory Fish, Academic Press, page 116:

In Ichthyostega (Figs 5.2, 5.11), Acanthostega (Fig. 5.20), and also in Hynerpeton (Fig. 5.28C, D) and Ventastega, the cleithrum was relatively reduced, though it was still a substantial dorsally extensive blade.

2012, Jennifer A. Clack, Gaining Ground: The Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods, 2nd edition, Indiana University Press, page 212:

(ichthyology) A large bone in fishes, which extends upward from the base of the pectoral fin and anchors to the cranium above the gills, forming the posterior edge of the gill chamber.


bulbus glandis

From Latin bulbus ("bulb") + glandis ("acorn").

der

An erectile tissue structure on the penis of canid mammals and some pinnipeds, which swells up and locks inside the female during sexual intercourse.


ammonitella

The embryonic stage, consisting of a small ellipsoid protoconch and ammonitella, ends at about 0.6 mm.

2016 January 14, “Paleobiology of the Latest Tithonian (Late Jurassic) Ammonite Salinites grossicostatum Inferred from Internal and External Shell Parameters”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

Sure, ammonoid shells as a whole got progressively more coiled over the Devonian. But so did the tiniest part of each ammonoid shell, the ammonitella.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 61:

The initial part of a spiral shell, originating from a central chamber, in ammonoid molluscs


procercus

MR-13 exhibits six setae on each procercus and bifid S III setae on the labrum (Fig 2 ), the former feature suggests that this specimen should belong to the dampfi group while the latter suggests its ascription to the zernyi-cinerella groups.

2016 March 4, “Integrated Taxonomy and DNA Barcoding of Alpine Midges (Diptera: Chironomidae)”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

A short structure from which cerci develop


stichosome

A multicellular organ, very prominent in some stages of nematodes, consisting of a longitudinal series of stichocytes, and believed to be a secretory gland and storage organ.


pretelson

The pretelson does not expand laterally and there is no evidence of an attachment point for cercal blades; this, combined with their absence in the material, indicates that such structures were lacking.

2015 September 1, James C. Lamsdell et al., “The oldest described eurypterid: a giant Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) megalograptid from the Winneshiek Lagerstätte of Iowa”, in BMC Evolutionary Biology, volume 15, →DOI:


epiphallus

Hadrotettix and Heliastus lack pale streaks but possess trilobed epiphalli, which led me to look for other characteristics shared with the Hippiscus group.

1981, Daniel Otte, The North American Grasshoppers: Acrididae: Oedipodinae, page 92:

In some orthopterans, a plate adjacent to the genital complex.

Male genitalia strongly asymmetrical, partially concealed by sternum 9, comprised by basisclerite, paired epiphalli (left with titillator), and hypophallus; hook process (=L3 sclerite after MCKITTRICK 1964) missing (KLASS 1997).

2006, A.P. Rasnitsyn, History of Insects, page 274:

In some dictyopterans, a pair of valves adjacent to the phallus.

In mature Arion the atrium is divided into upper and lower atria, with the oviduct, spermatheca duct and epiphallus opening into the upper atrium.

2012, A. South, Terrestrial Slugs: Biology, ecology and control, page 110:

(malacology) In some gastropods, an enlargement of the vas deferens that continues beyond the apex of the penis.


epural

Presence of two epurals is the more likely derived condition for stomiiforms based on functional outgroup comparison to Diplophos and Manducus.

1996, Antony S. Harold, “Interrelationships of Stomiiform Fishes”, in Melanie L.J. Stiassny, editor, Interrelationships of Fishes, page 333:

A boney or cartilaginous neural spine on the epural side of a fish's axial column, sometimes supporting fin-rays.


mouth hook

either of a pair of hooked larval mouthparts that function as jaws in some Diptera


syntergite

A structure, in some flies composed of several fused tergites


metapneustic

(zootomy) Having the respiratory apparatus in the anus.


scolopidium

From Ancient Greek σκόλοψ (skólops, “stake”) + -idium.

af

(zoology) The most fundamental unit of a mechanoreceptor organ in insects


pterygo-

From Ancient Greek πτέρῠγος (ptérugos), genitive singular of πτέρῠξ (ptérux, “wing”).

pterygoblast, pterygobranchiate

(zootomy) Of or relating to the wing or fin.


amnioserosa

en-noun

amnioserosa (plural amnioserosas or amnioserosae)

amnioserosas (plural)
amnioserosae (plural)

(Animal body parts) An epithelium at the dorsal midline of the blastoderm embryo of some insects


ink sac

The ink sac feeds into the rectum, controlled by a sphincter and in some inking events mucus from another organ, the funnel organ is ejected with water and ink through the anus and the siphon to create a cloud of ink.

2017 August 9, Mark Carnall, The Guardian:

(zoology) A muscular bag found in certain cephalopods used to generate ink.


endophallus

(zoology) The inner wall of the aedeagus of an insect, derived during embryological development by the fusion of paired genital papillae to form a medial tube. The endophallus is eversible and flexible, is the actual intromittent organ, and sometimes has backward-orientated denticulations to achieve a firm hold on the vaginal walls of the female.


living chamber

Although most of the animal's body is in the living chamber, it maintains a slight presence in the phragmocone to control the gas-to-fluid ratio.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 36:

(zoology) The part of a cephalopod's shell which is physically occupied by the animal's body, as opposed to those chambers that serve to provide buoyancy.


shell sac

Baby cephalopods, even octopuses, all have a shell sac, which is comparable to the mantle folds that baby clams and snails use to make their shells.

2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 115:

(zoology) The sac in which the shell of a mollusc is secreted during development; (now especially) the fold of mantle in which a cephalopod secretes its pen or gladius.


respiratorium

A gill-like organ used by certain insects to draw water from the air.


cowtail

cowtail (countable and uncountable, plural cowtails)

From Middle English *cou-tayl, from Old English cūtæġl (“cowtail”), equivalent to cow + tail.

A coarse wool of low quality, usually shorn from the hind legs of sheep.


tailshield

Trilobites have a distinct headshield or cephalon and a distinct tailshield or pygidium, and in both these regions the original segmentation has been suppressed — more completely in the cephalon than in the pygidium — and [...]

1985, E. W. Nield, Ted Nield, V. C. T. Tucker, Palaeontology, an Introduction:


gynosome

(zoology) A penis-like organ in female Neotrogla.


index digit

(zootomy) In other animals that digit corresponding to the human index finger.


armhook

When the partners meet they form armhook with each other, turn around once, let go, and continue the march till they again meet, when they march up into straight flank formation and halt at the end of the stanza.

With a clap the first and second men take right armhook with own ladies, then left with each other, right with own ladies, then left with each other, and retire to the same places as at the finish of part A ;

1915, Elizabeth Burchenal, Folk-dances of Denmark: containing seventy-three dances, page 66:

(folk dancing) A movement in which two people hook arms at the elbow and turn around each other.


castor sac

an organ of a beaver releasing a secretion for refining the animal’s fell, popular in perfumery as under the name castoreum, and formerly in medicine


precoxa

A limb segment, proximal to a coxa, in some crustaceans


wingpad

(entomology) The part of a pupa that develops into a wing in the adult insect.


euplantula

(entomology) A broadened variant of the plantula found on the lower surface of the middle tarsomere of an insect's leg which acts as a tarsal attachment point.


toe bean

(colloquial, chiefly in the plural) Any of the digital pads on an animal's paw; typically that of a cat or dog.


mesoptile

(biology) one of the second set of down feathers (in those birds that have two sets)


gastric mill

gastrointestinal tract
gastrointestinal tract

An organ in the gastrointestinal tract of some animals, particularly crustaceans, which contains dentition, that is used to grind food. The gnashing of the teeth/plates in the mill is also used by some of the creatures to create audible growling, as a form of communication.


lingual nerve

(neuroanatomy, zootomy) A sensory branch of the mandibular nerve that supplies the mucous membrane of the anterior two thirds of the tongue and the floor of the mouth and responds to stimuli of pressure, touch, and temperature.


otic ganglion

glossopharyngeal nerve
glossopharyngeal nerve

lesser petrosal nerve
lesser petrosal nerve

auriculotemporal nerve
auriculotemporal nerve

(neuroanatomy, zootomy) A small parasympathetic ganglion that is associated with the mandibular nerve, situated near the foramen ovale of the sphenoid bone, receives preganglionic fibers from the glossopharyngeal nerve by way of the lesser petrosal nerve, and sends postganglionic parasympathetic fibres to the parotid gland by way of the auriculotemporal nerve.


sinus venosus

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin sinus vēnōsus (“venous hollow”).

ubor

(zootomy) The first chamber of the heart in fish, amphibians, and reptiles, emptying into the right atrium.


spiritrompe

Borrowed from French spiritrompe, from Latin spira (“spiral”) + French trompe (“trumpet, trunk (of an elephant)”)


coon dick

From coon + dick. For the alcohol, the term was coined and used during the prohibition era of the 1930s, referring to how African Americans illegally transported it in the crotch of their pants.

"Oh, you want to see this," says the boy. “It's a coon dick.” A tiny, leathery hit of tissue on a length of blue yarn is swung in Joel's face.

They were leading a discussion about coon dicks, the penises of raccoons made into necklaces and worn for good luck.

2018, Robert Gordon, Memphis Rent Party: The Blues, Rock & Soul in Music's Hometown:

Ya must gotta a lucky 'Coon's Dick' in ya pocket, man. Or, ya got's-ta be cheatin', or somethin', damn!”

2018, William A. James Sr., Hard Times and Survival:

The penis bone of a raccoon, typically used as a toothpick or good luck charm.


conscutum

Hard tick's shield-like plate (in males).


multispined

Posterior tibiæ multispined; spines alternately long and short.

1872, F.V. Hayden, Preliminary Report of the United States Geological Survey of Μontana and Portions of Adjacent Territories Being a Fifth Annual Report of Progress, Washington: Government Printing Office, page 437:

It is channeled through multispined copper fins which warm the air and release it into the air ducts of the house.

1946 December, “Trunk-Size Oil-Burning Furnace Heats Five-Room House”, in Popular Mechanics, volume 86, number 6, →ISSN, page 170:

Male red-sided garter snakes have a multispined hemipenis with a sizeable basal spine that is inserted into the female during the reproductive bout.

2024 May 15, Kevin Lee Teather, The Evolution of Sex: Strategies of Males and Females, Oxford University Press, page 131:

(anatomy, zootomy) Of or pertaining to a structure having multiple spines.


petasma

A male genital appendage on the protopodites of some crustaceans.


thelycum

From Ancient Greek θηλυκός (thēlukós, “feminine”).

The female genital structure of some shrimp


supratympanal

en-adj

supratympanal (comparative more supratympanal, superlative most supratympanal)

more supratympanal (comparative)
most supratympanal (superlative)

Upper parts brownish olive; a triangular dark spot on the crown of the head; a brown spot below the eye, and a brown band along and below the supratympanal fold.

1864, ALBERT C.L.G. GÜNTHER, THE REPTILES OF BRITISH INDIA., London: R.Y. SOCIETY, page 415:

In grasshoppers the auditory nerve, after entering the tibia, divides into two branches, one forming the supratympanal ganglion, the other descending into the tympanum and forming a ganglion known as Siebold’s organ.

1899, Jame Weir, Jr., The Dawn of Reason of Mental Traits in the Lower Animals, New York: The Macmillan Company, page 21:

The outer chamber contains the supratympanal organ together with leucocytes and adipose cells.

1977, O. W. Richards, R. G. Davies, Imms' General Textbook of Entomology, Tenth edition, Volume I: Structure, Physiology and Development, London: Chapman and Hall, page 133:

(anatomy, zootomy) Describes something situated over or above the tympanum, or tympanic cavity, of the ear.