rhopaloid

comparative more rhopaloid · superlative most rhopaloid

1. biologyHaving a shaft or tentacle with an uneven diameter.

   The septa in the cardinal quadrants are thickened and rhopaloid .

   2002, Palaeontologia Polonica - Issue 61, page 21

   2 more examples

   Moreover, septa of Amplexocarinia are not rhopaloid , nor are they long in early stages comparable to early stages of Bradyphyllum .

   1961, W. H. Easton, Carboniferous Formations and Faunas of Central Montana, page 30

   A new category of heterotrichous microbasic rhopaloid nematocysts was identified in the scyphopolyps.

   2013, Andrew D. Naumov, Herman Hummel, Alexey A. Sukhotin, Interactions and Adaptation Strategies of Marine Organisms, page 9

plural rhopaloids

1. biologyA rhopaloid shaft or tentacle.

   The tentacles, either singly or fused, become the four rhopaloids.

   2020, Fatma El-Bawab, Invertebrate Embryology and Reproduction, page 241

   2 more examples

   The principal tentacular nematocysts are homotrichous microbasic rhopaloids, the capsule averaging 25–26μ long by 15–18μ across.

   1967, Australian Journal of Zoology, page 664

   Stenoteles and euryteles are both rhopaloids, nematocysts characterized by an anisodiametrically dilated shaft.

   1984, Zoologische Mededeelingen, page 41