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

The interior is nacreous, and of a greenish colour, with a white patch round the columella.

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.

Shell ovoid, with short spire, wide aperture and folded columella; inferior pallial lobe thick; visceral commissure still twisted.

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

The columella is a long, thin bony rod that terminates posteriorly in cartilage.

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

Shell fusiform and solid, aperture elongated, columella folded; no operculum; eyes on sides of tentacles.

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

Shell trochiform, with canaliculated aperture and twisted columella.

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