heliozoan

American

[hee-lee-uh-zoh-uhn] / ˌhi li əˈzoʊ ən /

noun

a protozoan of the order Heliozoa, having a spherical body and radiating pseudopods.

adjective

Also heliozoic belonging or pertaining to the Heliozoa.

heliozoan British

/ ˌhiːlɪəʊˈzəʊən /

noun

any protozoan of the mostly freshwater group Heliozoa, typically having a siliceous shell and stiff radiating cytoplasmic projections: phylum Actinopoda (actinopods)

"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

Etymology

Origin of heliozoan

1890–95; < New Latin Hēliozo ( a ) name of the group ( see helio-, -zoa) + -an

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