clitellum
a ring or saddle-shaped region of glandular tissue in the body wall of certain annelids, as earthworms and some leeches, that after copulation secretes a cocoon in which the eggs and sperm are deposited for fertilization and development.
Origin of clitellum
1Words Nearby clitellum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use clitellum in a sentence
clitellum always present, extending over two (many limicolous forms) to forty-five segments (Alma).
clitellum generally only two or three segments and more anterior in position than in Terricolae.
clitellum commonly extensive and more posterior in position than in other groups.
clitellum, kli-tel′um, n. the saddle of an annelid, as the earthworm:—pl.
clitellum not present as a definite organ, as in Oligochaeta.
British Dictionary definitions for clitellum
/ (klɪˈtɛləm) /
a thickened saddle-like region of epidermis in earthworms and leeches whose secretions bind copulating worms together and later form a cocoon around the eggs
Origin of clitellum
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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