Meanings
plural meiofaunas · plural meiofaunae
- biologyA group of marine or freshwater, typically benthic organisms that are intermediate in terms of size between macrofauna and microfauna, and which can pass through a 1 mm sieve, but are retained by a 45 μm sieve.
Synonyms: meiobenthos
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA group of marine or freshwater, typically benthic organisms that are intermediate in terms of size between macrofauna and microfauna, and which can pass through a 1 mm sieve, but are retained by a 45 μm sieve.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμεῖον“less”
- Englishmeiofauna
From meio- + fauna. Meio- is from Ancient Greek μεῖον (meîon, “less”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
meiofauna. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meiofauna
“meiofauna.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meiofauna. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “meiofauna,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meiofauna.
Source: meiofauna on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.