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Glite Dictionary
Holothuroidea

Holothuroidea

9.9
A group of sea animals like sea cucumbers with long soft bodies and leathery skin
  • noun
  • /ˌhoʊləˈθʊrɪə/
  • Specialized
: Holoturoidea
  • The Holothuroidea, or sea cucumbers, are an abundant and diverse group of worm-like and usually soft-bodied echinoderms.

Examples

  • The Holothuroidea, commonly known as sea cucumbers, play an important role in the marine ecosystem by recycling nutrients.

  • " Thank you for the manuals in the 'Marine Flora and Fauna of the Northeastern United States' series, the Holothuroidea Pawson, 1977, and higher plants of the marine fringe Moul, 1973.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Scientists study the Holothuroidea to understand their unique adaptations to deep-sea environments.

  • While exploring the ocean floor, we encountered several Holothuroidea that were hiding among the coral.

Surface Forms

Holothuroidea singular
Holothuroideas plural

Morphology

Holothuroidea = Holothuria (opaque) = holothuria + oidea

A scientific taxonomic formation from a Latin/Greek genus name plus the technical suffix '-oidea', which is not interpretable by average learners.

Etymology

Holothuroidea comes from the Greek name Holothuria, which means 'sea cucumber', plus the ending -oidea meaning 'group' or 'like'. So the word simply names the group of long, soft sea cucumbers found on the ocean floor.