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Glite Dictionary
abranchial

abranchial

9.9
An animal that has no gills
  • adjective
  • /ˌeɪˈbræŋkiəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : abranchial
  • Certain amphibians are abranchial throughout their adult stage, breathing entirely through their skin and lungs.

Examples

  • The fossil showed no evidence of gill structures, suggesting it was abranchial.

  • Unlike most fish, lamprey larvae are temporarily abranchial during part of their development.

  • The abranchial fish adapted to life in freshwater.

  • Many abranchial species thrive in oxygen-rich environments.

  • Certain amphibians are abranchial throughout their adult stage, breathing entirely through their skin and lungs.

  • The fossil showed no evidence of gill structures, suggesting it was abranchial.

  • Unlike most fish, lamprey larvae are temporarily abranchial during part of their development.

Synonyms

abranchiate
vsabranchial
  • Specialized
9.9

An animal that has no gills and breathes air

is the same meaning but uses a different technical adjective ending
abranchious
vsabranchial
  • Specialized
9.9

An animal that has no gills for breathing in water

is the same meaning but differs slightly in suffix or spelling
gill-less
vsabranchial
  • Specialized
8.6

Not having the thin breathing parts on the sides of fish

is the same meaning but in more formal scientific language

Antonyms

gilled
  • Specialized
4.9

Having thin plates underneath, as in fish for breathing or mushrooms for making spores

Surface Forms

abranchial positive

Morphology

abranchial = branchial (semi-transparent) = a + branchial

The negating prefix 'a-' combines with the technical adjective 'branchial'; the structure is clear but 'branchial' is specialized vocabulary.

Etymology

The word abranchial comes from the prefix a- meaning 'without' and the part branchial, from a Greek word for 'gills', like the common word 'gill'. So abranchial describes an animal that has 'no gills'.