branchiostegal

American  

[brang-kee-os-ti-guhl] / ˌbræŋ kiˈɒs tɪ gəl /

noun

1. Also called branchiostegal ray.  one of the long, curved bones just below the operculum, supporting the gill membranes.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the branchiostegals.

branchiostegal British  

/ ˌbræŋkɪəˈstiːɡəl /

adjective

1. zoology of or relating to the operculum covering the gill slits of fish

   branchiostegal membrane

   branchiostegal rays

---

Etymology

Origin of branchiostegal

First recorded in 1740–50; branchio- + steg(o)- + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Again, there are those who have written at great length of this and that species and sub-species, with many words and nice distinctions relative to vomerine teeth, branchiostegal rays and other anatomical differences.

From Project Gutenberg

These are the bones connected with respiration—the operculum, the branchiostegal rays, the branchial arches, and others.

From Project Gutenberg

Geoffroy's next step is to point out that the only possible homologues of sternal ribs are the branchiostegal rays, which arise from the large bones of the hyoid arch.

From Project Gutenberg

From the hinder edge of the hyoid arch grows out the membranous operculum, in which develop later the opercular bones and branchiostegal rays.

From Project Gutenberg

He could reject, with a mere reference to the facts of development, Geoffroy's comparison of the hyoid and the branchiostegal rays in fish with sternum and ribs.

From Project Gutenberg