zooid

1 9.9

A small animal that lives attached to others in a group and often has its own job

noun
/ˈzuːɔɪd/

Specialized

: zooide

Bryozoans are colonial animals that grow through asexual budding of modular units called zooids that remain attached to the parental colony (Figure 5).

Examples

Competition for space is therefore mediated by rapid increases in zooid numbers, and the competitive advantage should go to colonies that bud the fastest.

Academic text (1998)
Each zooid in the bryozoan colony functions semi-independently while still being connected to its neighbors.
By this repeated motion, the little zooid could work up a remarkable speed in either direction.

Fiction book (1998)
Somewhere in the wheelgrass, a nocturnal zooid called for its mate, and another answered.

Fiction book (1998)
The marine biologist observed how each zooid within the colony reacted to changes in the environment.
As the colony expanded, the number of zooids increased, showcasing their unique ability to bud off from one another.

Synonyms

zoon

vszooid

Specialized

9.9

An individual animal in a colony like coral that forms without sex

emphasizes semi-independent functioning while remaining physically connected to the colony

Surface Forms

zooid singular

zooids plural

Morphology

zooid = zoo (semi-transparent) = zoo + oid

The element 'zoo' signals animal, but the technical suffix '-oid' gives a specialized biological term referring to a unit or member of a colony, which is not fully predictable to general learners.

Etymology

The word zooid comes from Greek parts zoo- meaning 'animal' and -oid meaning 'like', the same -oid you see in humanoid or asteroid. So a zooid is an 'animal-like' individual unit in a colony, a tiny animal connected to and working with others.