rhizocephalous

[rahy-zoh-sef-uh-luhs]

adjective

Zoology.

1. belonging to the Rhizocephala, a group of degenerate hermaphrodite crustaceans that are parasitic chiefly on crabs.

Other Word Forms

• rhizocephalan noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhizocephalous¹

First recorded in 1890–95; rhizo- + -cephalous

Example Sentences

The rhizocephalous crustaceans are allied to the cirripedes.

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"The rhizocephalous crustaceans do not feed like other animals by their mouths, for they are destitute of an alimentary canal, but they live by absorbing through root-like processes the juices of the animals on which they are parasitic."

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