amphipod

American  

[am-fuh-pod] / ˈæm fəˌpɒd /

noun

1. any of numerous small, flat-bodied crustaceans of the group Amphipoda, including the beach fleas, sand hoppers, etc.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the amphipods.

amphipod British  

/ ˈæmfɪˌpɒd /

noun

1. any marine or freshwater crustacean of the order Amphipoda, such as the sand hoppers, in which the body is laterally compressed: subclass Malacostraca

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Amphipoda

Etymology

Origin of amphipod

1825–35; < New Latin Amphipoda; see amphi-, -pod

Example Sentences

The amphipod was discovered at a depth of 2,602 meters in a mussel bed within the Galápagos Rift hydrothermal vent fields.

From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025

The other, Siena McKim of the University of California, Santa Barbara, discovered that at least one amphipod species produces this fiber with some of the same genes as silkworms.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 12, 2024

Algae that grow underneath sea ice sink to the seafloor, enriching the amphipod population.

From Science Daily • Oct. 12, 2023

A cave in Canada has been declared a globally significant location to preserve a rare amphipod.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2023

Crustacea, parasitic, loss of limbs by female; prehensile feet and antennae of; male, more active than female; parthenogenesis in; secondary sexual characters of; amphipod, males sexually mature while young; auditory hairs of.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles