Definition of pteropod in US English:

noun

• A small mollusk with winglike extensions to its body that it uses for swimming.

  Orders Thecosomata (with shells) and Gymnosomata (lacking shells), class Gastropoda

  Example sentences

  • ‘In addition to its operation in some insects, it has been suggested that the flapping mechanism in the pteropod, Clione limacina, uses a clap-and-fling mechanism.’
  • ‘The pteropod, Cfione limacina (Order: Gymnosomata) differs from the nudibranchs and notaspids discussed so far in that it swims continuously using paired parapodial appendages that resemble wings.’
  • ‘The unusual relationship between the pelagic mollusc Clione antarctica, a pteropod, and its amphipod abductor has been described as ‘antagonistic symbiosis’.’
  • ‘Initially, Walcott considered Matthevia to be a snail, either a pteropod or a new form of equivalent rank, although he made this assignment with reservation.’
  • ‘The commonest macrofaunal elements of the Carriacou succession are benthic molluscs, pteropods, scleractinian corals and, particularly in the Grand Bay Formation, articulate brachiopods (Donovan and Harper, 1997, in press).’
  • ‘These all feed on pteropods, or sea butterflies, one of the species most threatened by rising acidity.’