parapodium

American  

[par-uh-poh-dee-uhm] / ˌpær əˈpoʊ di əm /

noun

Zoology.

plural

parapodia

1. one of the unjointed rudimentary limbs or processes of locomotion of many worms, as annelids.

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parapodium British  

/ ˌpærəˈpəʊdɪəm /

noun

1. any of the paired unjointed lateral appendages of polychaete worms, used in locomotion, respiration, etc

2. any of various similar appendages of other invertebrates, esp certain molluscs

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Other Word Forms

• parapodial adjective

Etymology

Origin of parapodium

First recorded in 1875–80; para- ¹ + -podium

Example Sentences

Notopodium, nō-tō-pō′di-um, n. the dorsal or upper part of the parapodium of an annelid, a dorsal oar.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

The ancestral stock was pantognathobasic—i.e. had a gnathobase or jaw process on every parapodium.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

The reduction of the outgrowth-bearing “corm” of the parapodium of either a Chaetopod or an Arthropod to a simple cylindrical stump, devoid of outgrowths, is brought about when mechanical conditions favour such a shape.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

The parapodium is represented with its neural or ventral surface uppermost.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

Naturally, it is among the free living forms that the parapodium is best developed, and least developed among the tubicolous Polychaeta.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various