suctorial

American  

[suhk-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / sʌkˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

1. adapted for sucking or suction, as an organ; functioning as a sucker for imbibing or adhering.

2. having sucking organs; imbibing or adhering by suckers.

3. pertaining to or characterized by suction.

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suctorial British  

/ sʌkˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. specialized for sucking or adhering

   the suctorial mouthparts of certain insects

2. relating to or possessing suckers or suction

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Other Word Forms

• nonsuctorial adjective

Etymology

Origin of suctorial

1825–35; < New Latin sūctōri ( us ) ( see suctorian) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The Encyclopedia describes it as of the order of Hexapoda, has firmly chitinized cuticle, and can be recognized by the combination of imperfectly suctorial jaws.

From Time Magazine Archive

A male lamprey eel apparently recognizes sex only by attaching himself with his suctorial mouth to another eel that clings to a rock.

From Time Magazine Archive

The mouth is suctorial, and the two horny rods, with their central piece or pieces, are protrusile.

From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Slack, Henry J.

All Arachnida, including Limulus, feed by suctorial action in essentially the same way as Scorpio.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various

Mandibles rarely present, adapted for piercing; first maxillae with palps; second maxillae forming with hypopharynx a suctorial proboscis.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various