dactylozooid
|dac-ty-lo-zoo-id|
🇺🇸
/ˌdæk.tɪ.loʊˈzuːɔɪd/
🇬🇧
/ˌdæk.tɪ.ləˈzuːɔɪd/
finger-like, tentacle-bearing zooid (prey-capturing/defensive)
Etymology
'dactylozooid' originates from Greek roots via New Latin/modern scientific coinage, specifically the Greek words 'daktulos' and 'zoion', where 'daktulos' meant 'finger' and 'zoion' meant 'animal' (with the suffix '-oid' meaning 'like').
'dactylozooid' changed from the New Latin/modern scientific compound formed in zoological literature (combining 'dactyl-' + 'zooid', itself from Greek 'zoion' via New Latin 'zooidēs') and eventually became the modern English technical term 'dactylozooid'.
Initially it literally meant 'finger-like animal' (or 'finger-like zooid'); over time it evolved into a specialized biological term referring specifically to tentacle-bearing, prey-capturing or defensive members of certain colonial cnidarians.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a specialized type of zooid in some colonial cnidarians (such as certain hydrozoans and siphonophores), typically a finger-like or tentacle-bearing individual used for defense and prey capture, bearing nematocysts or other stinging cells.
The siphonophore's long dactylozooids extended to capture plankton with their stinging cells.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/14 21:01