pecten

American  

[pek-tuhn] / ˈpɛk tən /

noun

pectens, plural pectines plural

1. Zoology, Anatomy.

   1. a comblike part or process.

   2. a pigmented vascular membrane with parallel folds suggesting the teeth of a comb, projecting into the vitreous humor of the eye in birds and reptiles.

2. any bivalve mollusk of the genus Pecten; scallop.

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pecten British  

/ ˈpɛktɪn /

noun

1. a comblike structure in the eye of birds and reptiles, consisting of a network of blood vessels projecting inwards from the retina, which it is thought to supply with oxygen

2. any other comblike part or organ

3. any scallop of the genus Pecten, which swim by expelling water from their shell valves in a series of snapping motions

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pectens
  plural
• pectines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pecten

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pecten comb, rake, scallop, pubes, akin to pectere, Greek pékein to comb, card

Example Sentences

Collected by M. Domeyko from the same locality, apparently near Arqueros: Terebratula aenigma and Terebratula ignaciana, in same block of limestone: Pecten Dufreynoyi.

From Geological Observations on South America by Darwin, Charles

It is evidently of marine formation, as Sir William Hamilton, Professor Pilla, and others have detected sea-shells therein, of the genera Ostr�a, Cardium, Pecten and Pectunculus, Buccinum, etc.

From Volcanoes: Past and Present by Hull, Edward

Pecten striatus, identical with those found in the upper Jurassic beds at Hildesheim.

From Geological Observations on South America by Darwin, Charles

The formation was produced at the time when ammonites, gryphites, oysters, Pecten, Mytilus, etc., etc., lived.

From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 by Darwin, Francis, Sir

In the South Australian province species of Mactra, Psammobia, Venus, Tapes and Pecten, all peculiar, were taken.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 2 by MacGillivray, John