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Glite Dictionary
family Pennatulidae

family Pennatulidae

9.9
A group of sea animals called sea pens that look like feathers and live on soft sea bottoms
  • noun
  • Specialized
: familia Pennatulidae
  • The colorful members of the family Pennatulidae are often called sea pens because of their feather-like appearance.

Examples

  • The family Pennatulidae includes various species of sea pens.

  • Scientists discovered several new species in the family Pennatulidae off the coast of Australia.

  • Marine biologists study the diversity of the family Pennatulidae to understand ocean ecosystems.

  • The colorful members of the family Pennatulidae are often called sea pens because of their shape.

  • Many members of the family Pennatulidae thrive in deep ocean waters.

  • Marine biologists study the diversity of the family Pennatulidae to understand ocean ecosystems.

  • Scientists discovered several new species in the family Pennatulidae off the coast of Australia.

Synonyms

Pennatulidae
vsfamily Pennatulidae
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of sea animals that live in soft ocean mud and look like feathers

refers specifically to those living in soft seabed habitats rather than any ocean area

Surface Forms

family Pennatulidae singular
families Pennatulidae plural

Morphology

family + Pennatulidae

This is compositionally transparent: 'family' names a taxonomic grouping and 'Pennatulidae' is the taxon name (sea pens), so the phrase straightforwardly means a family consisting of Pennatulidae. The construction follows standard scientific naming patterns found cross-linguistically, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Family Pennatulidae gets its name from a Latin word meaning 'feather' because these animals look like a pen or feather standing in soft sea sand. That's why people call them 'sea pens' today.