Meanings
plural gonodactyloids
- biologyAny mantis shrimp in the superfamily Gonodactyloidea
The posterolateral margins are usually broadly rounded, but in Harpiosquillidae Manning, 1980, the posterolateral margins are deeply excavate, and in several gonodactyloids, the posterolateral margin is squared.
2000, Australian Journal of Zoology, volume 48, page 6101 more example
It is possible that in the coral-dwelling gonodactyloids the accumulation of muscle tension and sudden release of the pendulum-like 'hammer' would impose too much stress on the muscles and skeleton of the appendage if animals were larger […]
2017, Robert H. Gore, Crustacean Biogeography
Origin
- Ancient Greekδάκτυλος“finger”
- Ancient Greekγόνυ“knee, joint”
- Englishgonodactyloid
From Gonodactylus + -oid, from gono- (“joint”) from Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu, “knee, joint”) and Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”)), in reference to the species' specialized appendages.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
gonodactyloid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gonodactyloid
“gonodactyloid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gonodactyloid. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gonodactyloid,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gonodactyloid.
Source: gonodactyloid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.