columella

American  

[kol-yuh-mel-uh] / ˌkɒl yəˈmɛl ə /

noun

Biology.

plural

columellae

1. 1. any of various small, columnlike structures of animals or plants; rod or axis.

   2. Mycology. a small central column of sterile tissue within the sporangium of certain fungi, liverworts, and mosses.

2. a small bone in the ear of amphibians, reptiles, and birds.

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columella British  

/ ˌkɒljʊˈmɛlə /

noun

1. biology

   1. the central part of the spore-producing body of some fungi and mosses

   2. any similar columnar structure

2. Also called: columella auris.  a small rodlike bone in the middle ear of frogs, reptiles, and birds that transmits sound to the inner ear: homologous to the mammalian stapes

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Other Word Forms

• columellar adjective
• columellate adjective
• postcolumellar adjective
• pseudocolumellar adjective

Etymology

Origin of columella

1575–85; < Latin: small column, equivalent to colum- (variant of column-, stem of columna column ) + -ella -elle

Example Sentences

Monodonta, no jaws, spire not prominent, no umbilicus, columella toothed.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various

On the base is a circular band of purple round the columella, which is white.

From Beautiful Shells of New Zealand An Illustrated Work for Amateur Collectors of New Zealand Marine Shells, with Directions for Collecting and Cleaning them by Moss, E. G. B.

Shortly thereafter the anterior arm of the squamosal ossifies, the distal part of the columella appears, and the anterior and lateral parts of the auditory region ossify.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by Duellman, William E.

A part of the columella and capillitium, � 60.

From The North American Slime-Moulds A Descriptive List of All Species of Myxomycetes Hitherto Reported from the Continent of North America, with Notes on Some Extra-Limital Species by MacBride, Thomas H. (Thomas Huston)

It is the cartilagenous part of the columella that connects with the external sound detecting mechanism.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John