tetrabranchiate

[te-truh-brang-kee-it, -eyt]

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Nautiloidea (Tetrabranchiata), a subclass or order of cephalopods with four gills, including the pearly nautilus and numerous fossil forms.

tetrabranchiate

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Tetrabranchiata, a former order of cephalopod molluscs having four gills and including the pearly nautilus

noun

1. any mollusc belonging to the Tetrabranchiata

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetrabranchiate¹

First recorded in 1825–35; tetra- + branchiate

Example Sentences

Tetrabranchiate, tet-ra-brang′ki-āt, adj. having four gills.—n.pl.

From Project Gutenberg

Sī′phonostome, a siphonostomatous animal, as a fish-louse; Sī′phuncle, the siphon or funnel of tetrabranchiate cephalopods: a nectary.—adjs.

From Project Gutenberg

Rhyncholite, ring′kō-līt, n. the fossil beak of a tetrabranchiate cephalopod.

From Project Gutenberg

Lastly, a few Cephalopods have been found, still wholly referable to the Tetrabranchiate group, and belonging to the old genera Orthoceras and Cyrtoceras and the long-lived Nautilus.

From Project Gutenberg

The ancient genus Nautilus still survives, the sole representative of the once mighty order of the Tetrabranchiate Cephalopods.

From Project Gutenberg