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Glite Dictionary
comatulid

comatulid

9.9
A sea animal with ten feathery arms that swims without a stalk
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : comatulido
  • Unlike other crinoids, a comatulid does not have a stalk and can swim freely.

Examples

  • The colorful comatulid moved gracefully across the seafloor in search of food.

  • Many comatulids inhabit the muddy sea bottoms.

  • Marine biologists discovered a new species of comatulid off the coast of Indonesia.

  • The comatulid gracefully swam through the water.

  • Marine biologists discovered a new species of comatulid off the coast of Indonesia.

  • The colorful comatulid moved gracefully across the seafloor in search of food.

  • Unlike other crinoids, a comatulid does not have a stalk and can swim freely.

Synonyms

crinoid
vscomatulid
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A sea animal with a central body and feathery arms used to catch food

is a narrower free-swimming, stalkless form with ten arms on muddy bottoms
feather star
vscomatulid
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea animal with many feathery arms that can swim and lives on the sea floor

is the technical term for the same free-swimming stalkless animal

Surface Forms

comatulid singular
comatulids plural

Morphology

comatulid = Comatula (opaque) = comatul + id

Formed with the specialized taxonomic suffix '-id' from a genus name; this formation is domain‑specific and not meaningfully transparent to a general learner.

Etymology

The word comatulid comes from an old root coma meaning 'hair', the same idea behind the word comet, which once meant a 'long-haired' star. So a comatulid is a sea animal with many feather-like 'hairs' for arms, and that 'hairy' look helps you remember its feathery arms and how it swims freely.