crabeater seal
- noun
- /ˈkreɪˌbiːtər siːl/
:
foca cangrejera
- Researchers study the crabeater seal to learn more about its feeding habits in the Antarctic ecosystem.
Examples
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During our expedition, we spotted a group of crabeater seals lounging on the ice.
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For example, in the 1960s, a resurgent sealing industry seemed to threaten the abundant crabeater seals on the summer pack ice.
Academic text (1990) -
The crabeater seal is known for its diet of krill in the icy waters of Antarctica.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A seal from Antarctica that mainly eats tiny sea animals
A silvery grey seal from Antarctica that eats mainly small sea animals with shells
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound clearly signals a seal that eats crustaceans — a B1 learner who knows 'crab' and 'eater' would infer 'a seal that eats crabs' or similar, so the basic compositional idea is recoverable. However, the name is lexicalized and misleading (the species primarily eats krill rather than true crabs), so the precise meaning and referent are not fully predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Crabeater seal comes from the words crab and eater, so it gives the clear image of a seal that eats crabs. The seal actually has teeth that act like a sieve and it eats tiny sea creatures called 'krill' rather than big crabs. So today crabeater seal means a seal that mainly feeds on 'krill'.