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Glite Dictionary
ephemeropteran

ephemeropteran

9.9
An insect like a mayfly that lives only a few hours as an adult
  • noun
  • /ɪˌfɛmərˈɒptərən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : efímera
  • Mayflies are the most well-known ephemeropterans and are crucial indicators of water quality.

Examples

  • Mayflies are the most well-known ephemeropterans and are important indicators of aquatic ecosystem health.

  • Because ephemeropterans live only a few hours as adults, their emergence is often dramatic.

  • The scientist collected several ephemeropterans near the river during their brief mating season.

  • The ephemeropteran is known for its brief adult life.

  • Many ephemeropterans emerge in late spring.

  • Because ephemeropterans live only for a few hours as adults, their emergence is often dramatic.

  • The researcher found various ephemeropterans near the river during their short mating season.

Synonyms

mayfly
vsephemeropteran
4 7.5

A small insect with thin wings that lives only a short time as an adult

is the scientific order name rather than the everyday common name
ephemerid
vsephemeropteran
  • Specialized
9.9

An insect like a mayfly that lives and dies within a day

is the formal order-based term rather than the shorter common label
dayfly
vsephemeropteran
9.2

A small insect with thin wings whose young live in water and adults live less than two days

is the scientific order name rather than a descriptive common name

Surface Forms

ephemeropteran singular
ephemeropterans plural

Morphology

ephemeropteran = Ephemeroptera (opaque) = Ephemeroptera + an

The suffix '-an' regularly forms nouns/adjectives meaning 'member/related to' the taxon name, so the morphological step from Ephemeroptera to ephemeropteran is regular.

Etymology

Ephemeropteran comes from Greek parts ephemer- 'for a day' (the same root as ephemeral) and pteron 'wing'. So an ephemeropteran is like a 'day-wing' insect, which explains why mayflies live only a very short time as adults.