cirriped

/'siriped/ Cách viết khác : (cirripede) /'siripi:d/

Thân thiện

A cirriped clings to a weathered wooden piling in the harbor.

Definition

Noun: A cirriped is a type of marine crustacean. As larvae, they are free-swimming, but as adults, they permanently attach themselves to submerged surfaces like rocks, ship hulls, or whales, forming a hard, protective shell. They feed using specialized, feathery appendages.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • The biologist studied the cirriped attached to the whale's skin.
  • A cluster of cirripeds had colonized the pier's pilings.
  • The life cycle of a cirriped involves a dramatic transformation from a mobile larva to a sessile adult.

Advanced Usage

• Scientific Context: The term is primarily used in zoological and marine biology contexts to describe members of the infraclass Cirripedia, which includes barnacles.
• "Cirripede": This is a common variant spelling of the noun.

Variants and Related Words

• Cirripede (n): An alternative spelling for cirriped.
• Cirripedia (n): The scientific infraclass name to which these animals belong.
• Barnacle (n): The common name for most adult cirripeds.

Synonyms

• Barnacle: The most common synonym, though "barnacle" often refers specifically to the familiar hard-shelled adult form.
• Sessile crustacean: A descriptive term highlighting their attached, immobile adult lifestyle.

Học thuật

Noun

1. marine crustaceans with feathery food-catching appendages; free-swimming as larvae; as adults form a hard shell and live attached to submerged surfaces

Từ đồng nghĩa

• barnacle
• cirripede