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.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

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

Read more on Project Gutenberg

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

Read more on Project Gutenberg

A family of Tetrabranchiate Cephalopods, so called from the resemblance of the shell of the type-genus, Ammonites, to the horns of the Egyptian God, Jupiter-Ammon.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

The Cephalopods, again—the highest of all the groups of Mollusca—are represented in the Palæozoic rocks exclusively by Tetrabranchiate forms, which constitute the lowest of the two orders of this class; whereas the more highly specialised Dibranchiates do not make their appearance till the commencement of the Mesozoic.

Read more on Project Gutenberg