brachiopod

American

[brey-kee-uh-pod, brak-ee-] / ˈbreɪ ki əˌpɒd, ˈbræk i- /

noun

any mollusklike, marine animal of the phylum Brachiopoda, having a dorsal and ventral shell; a lamp shell.

adjective

Also brachiopodous belonging or pertaining to the Brachiopoda.

brachiopod British

/ ˈbreɪkɪəˌpɒd, ˈbræk- /

noun

Also called: lamp shell. any marine invertebrate animal of the phylum Brachiopoda , having a ciliated feeding organ (lophophore) and a shell consisting of dorsal and ventral valves See also bryozoan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

brachiopod Scientific

/ brā′kē-ə-pŏd′ /

Any of various marine invertebrate animals of the phylum Brachiopoda that resemble clams. Brachiopods have paired upper and lower shells attached to a usually stationary stalk and hollow tentacles covered with cilia that sweep food particles into the mouth. Brachiopods are probably related to the phoronids and bryozoans, and were extremely abundant throughout the Paleozoic Era.

Etymology

Origin of brachiopod

From the New Latin word Brachiopoda, dating back to 1830–40. See brachio-, -pod

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023