pleopod

English

Alternative forms

pleiopod, pleiopus, pleopus

Etymology

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Noun

pleopod (plural pleopods or pleopoda)

(deprecated template usage) (zoology) One of the abdominal legs of a crustacean.
In decapods such as lobsters, pleopods are legs mainly used for swimming but sometimes used for brooding eggs or catching food. In some species certain pleopods of an animal may have been adapted to special functions such as reproduction.