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ostracod

American

[os-truh-kod] / ˈɒs trəˌkɒd /

noun

seed shrimp.

ostracod British

/ ˈɒstrəˌkɒd /

noun

any minute crustacean of the mainly freshwater subclass Ostracoda, in which the body is enclosed in a transparent two-valved carapace

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of ostracod

1860–65; < New Latin Ostracoda name of the subclass < Greek ostrakṓdēs, equivalent to óstrak ( on ) shell, tile ( see ostracize) + -ōdēs -ode ¹

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.

See Examples For:

ostracod

That is 273 million years earlier than the glowing ostracod crustaceans that previously held the title of earliest evolution of bioluminescence in animals.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 23, 2024

Increasingly, ostracod researchers are delving into how evolution shaped the animals’ most distinctive feature—their flashes.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 24, 2022

Thus, when ostracod bioluminescence arose 197 million years ago, it wasn’t newly invented, but rather a novel application for an existing gene network.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 24, 2022

So they were able to compare characteristics of extinct ostracod species with the abundant living species.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2018

So those ostracod species where males invested heavily in sexual selection chose poorly, it seems.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2018

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