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meiofauna

British  
/ ˈmaɪəʊˌfɔːnə /

noun

  1. the component of the fauna of a sea or lake bed comprising small (but not microscopic) animals, such as tiny worms and crustaceans

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • meiofaunal adjective

Etymology

Origin of meiofauna

C20: from Greek meiōn less + fauna

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thiel was interested in the region’s largely unstudied meiofauna — the tiny animals that live on and between the nodules.

From Nature • Jul. 23, 2019

Living between the wet sand grains is a whole universe of microscopic life: the meiofauna.

From Scientific American • Sep. 16, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.