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Glite Dictionary
pleopod

pleopod

9.9
Small limb under the body of animals like shrimp that they use to swim and hold eggs
  • noun
  • /ˈplēəˌpäd/
  • Specialized
: pleópodo
  • The female crab used her pleopod to carry her eggs safely beneath her abdomen.

Examples

  • The researcher focused on how pleopods function in locomotion among various crustacean species.

  • During our study, we noted that the pleopods of the shrimp were highly efficient for swimming.

  • We also observed decreased pleopod movement reaction in exposed amphipods.

    Academic text (2018)

Synonyms

swimmeret
vspleopod
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small leg under the back of some water animals that helps them swim and hold eggs

is the same paired abdominal limb adapted for swimming and egg carrying

Surface Forms

pleopod singular
pleopods plural

Morphology

pleopod = pleon (opaque) = pleo + pod

Formed from specialist Greek combining elements that are technical and not accessible to average learners, so the meaning is not derivable from familiar English bases.

Etymology

Pleopod is made of two parts: pleo-, from a word for the animal's abdomen, and -pod meaning 'foot', the same root as in octopus. So a pleopod is like an 'abdominal foot' used for swimming and, in females, for carrying eggs.