deuterostome
Americannoun
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Embryology. a mouth that develops separately from the blastopore.
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Taxonomy. any member of the phyla (Chordata, Hemichordata, Echinodermata, Chaetognatha) in which the anus appears first, developing at or near the blastopore, cleavage is radial and indeterminate, and the mesoderm and coelom form from outgrowths of the primitive gut.
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Any of a major group of animals defined by its embryonic development, in which the first opening in the embryo becomes the anus. At this stage in their development, the later specialized function of any given embryonic cell has not yet been determined. Deuterostomes are one of the two groups of animals that have true body cavities (coeloms), and are believed to share a common ancestor. They include the echinoderms, chaetognaths, hemichordates, and chordates.
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Compare protostome
Etymology
Origin of deuterostome
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But strangely, the new deuterostome fossils seem to have no anus, presumably using the mouth for evacuation.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2017
Regardless of their mechanism of origination, the various deuterostome novelties and gene family expansions of sialic acid metabolism are noteworthy.
From Nature ● Nov. 17, 2015
Green boxes around the names indicate genes with pan-metazoan/bilaterian ancestry and without accelerated sequence change in the deuterostome lineage.
From Nature ● Nov. 17, 2015
As the deuterostome develops, the mesoderm pinches off and fuses, forming a second body cavity.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The word deuterostome comes from the Greek word meaning “mouth second,” indicating that the anus is the first to develop.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
