Copy of `Coral Realm - Coral Glossary`

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Coral Realm - Coral Glossary Category: Animals and Nature > Coral Date & country: 13/09/2007, USA Words: 180

Nasal flap
a skin flap just in front of the nostril.

Nasoral groove
a channel that connects the nostrils to the mouth and allow the shark or ray to irrigate the nostrils with fresh sea water by pulling water through the mouth.

Nauplii
free-swimming, planktonic stage of many crustaceans.

Nictitating membrane
a moveable lower eyelid.

Nocturnal
active at night.

Obligatory
obligate or required. For example, an obligatory cleaner fish relies entirely on this feeding mode to obtain nutrients.

Occipital pit
a pit on top of the head, located between the eyes.

Oceanic
pertaining to the open ocean and the organisms or structures found in this environment.

Ocellus (ocelli)
a spot with a lighter outer margin (also known as an eye spot).

Ontogenetic
referring to a change that occurs with age.

Operculum
a bony gill cover.

Ophiuroids
members of the subclass Ophiuroidea, including the basket stars, serpent stars and brittle stars.

Orbit
bony eye socket.

Osculum
a large excurrent pore that allows water to exit from the internal cavity of sponges.

Oviparity
the reproductive mode where eggs are released from the body and latter hatch.

Oviposition
the process of depositing eggs.

Ovoviviparity
the reproductive mode where the eggs hatch and develop in the female's reproductive tract (or a specialized pouch in the males of some species), are not nourished in any way by the female, and are free-swimming when expelled from the parent (also see viviparity).

Palatine
a pair of bones on the roof of the mouth.

Papillae
a small fleshy projection.

Parturition
the process of giving birth.

Pelagic
pertaining to organisms which live in the water column.

Pharyngeal teeth
teeth located on the bones in the pharynx, which is located between the mouth and the esophagus.

Photophore
an organ that emits light.

Piscivorous
fish-eating species.

Plankton
organisms that drift about in the ocean that are usually minute.

Poisonous
an organism that contains poison (a substance causing illness of death) in its tissues that can be harmful if the organism is ingested.

Polychaetes
a class of worms in the phylum Annelida, which is comprised of about 800 species, including ragworms, lug worms, bristleworms and fanworms.

Porcelain crabs
crabs in the infraorder Brachyura, and the family Porcellanidae, which include the anemone crabs (genus Neopetrolisthes) and others commensal with invertebrates.

Posterior
pertaining to area toward the back or tail.

Preorbital
the area under and in front of the eyes.

Primary male or female
a male or female that is genetically determined at birth or hatching and is not the result of sex change.

Protandry
sequential hermaphrodite where individuals transform from male to female.

Protogyny
sequential hermaphrodite where individuals transform from female to male.

Protractile
capable of being protruded or thrust out.

Protunid crabs
crabs in the infraorder Brachyura, and the family Protunidae, which are commonly referred to as swimming crabs. They have a broad carapace, often armed with large spines along its edges, and the last pair of legs are flattened to form paddles which they use for swimming and burying in the substrate.

Proximal
nearest to the point of origin; the opposite of distal.

Rostrum
an elongate or extended snout.

School
a social group consisting of individuals of the same species, with individuals being similar in size, equal in their social status, and moving in a highly coordinated fashion.

Scott Michael
the Fabio of the fish world.

Secondary male or female
a male or female that is the result of sex change. A secondary male would be derived from a protogynous female, while a secondary female would be derived from a protandrous male.

Sequential hermaphrodite
a form of hermaphroditism where individuals can change sex, but the sexes are separate.

Sessile
a condition where the organism is permanently attached to the substrate or stationary.

Sessile
permanently attached or stationary.

Sexual dichromatism
pertaining to color differences between the sexes.

Sexual dimorphism
pertaining to structural or size differences between the sexes.

Shoal
a social group consisting of individuals of the same species that are not always similar in size, that are not equal in social status, and that do not move in a highly coordinated fashion.

Simultaneous hermaphrodite
a form of hermaphroditism where individuals have both functional testes and ovaries at the same time, and can release either sperm or eggs during spawning.

Siphon sacs
a pair of sacs located under the skin of the abdomen that secrete a fluid or sea water, to help transport the sperm into the clasper groove.

Small-polyped stony coral
reef-building stony coral with a small polyp that retracts completely into the calacies.

Snout
the portion of the head that is just in front of the eye ball.

Soft corals
members of the order Alcyonacea, which have a skeleton formed of calcareous spicules, and include the genera Dendronephthya, Sarcophyton, Sinularia, and many others.

Spiracle
a respiratory opening located behind the eyes.

Spot
a circular area of pigment.

Stenohaline
pertaining to an aquatic organism that can only withstand a narrow salinity range.

Stony corals
members of the order Scleractinia, which secrete a heavy, external, calcareous skeleton, and many of which are primary contributors to the building of coral reefs. These can be further divided into the small-polyped stony corals (SPS corals) and the large-polyped stony corals (LPS corals).

Stripes
a straight area of pigment that can vary in width (wider than a line), which can be oriented vertically, horizontally, or obliquely on the head, body or fins.

Submarginal
just before the fin margin.

Suborbital
an area below the eye.

Substrate
any solid surface or substance (e.g., rock, sand).

Supraorbital
an area above the eye.

Supraorbital crest
a crest above the eye.

Swimming crabs
see Protunid crabs.

Sympatric
having a similar geographical and/or bathymetric distribution.

Tanaids
small, marine crustaceans in the order Tanaidacea, most of which live in bottom sediments or in reef interstices.

Terminal
at the end of the head.

Thermocline
a zone in the water column where there is a very rapid change in temperature, and water density, with depth.

Thoracic
lying below or just before the pectoral fin base.

Truncate
having the end squared off.

Tubercles
enlarged, thorn-like denticles.

Upwelling
a process where subsurface, nutrient-rich, and usually cooler water is carried upward into the ocean's surface layers.

Venomous
pertaining to an organism that has a poison, usually secreted by glandular tissue, that is injected through hollow spines or teeth.

Ventrum
pertaining to the underside or 'belly.'

Vermiculations
fine, wavy lines.

Villiform teeth
minute, slender teeth that usually are crowded into small patches so that they resemble a brush.

Viviparity
a form of reproduction where the young are nourished in the reproductive tract of the female (other then by a yolk sac) and expelled from the mother as free-swimming young. It is often used loosely to refer to any species that gives birth to live young (also see ovoviviparity).

Vomer
bones located just behind the upper jaw, or the front portion of the roof of the mouth.

Worms
a general term used for the annelid, sipunculid (peanut) and echiuran (innkeeper) worms. Most of these live on the sea floor often within bottom sediments.

Xanthid crab
crabs in the infraorder Brachyura, and the family Xanthidae, which are often referred to as coral crabs because of their association with coral reefs. All have black-tipped claws and some live in association with stony corals (e.g., Trapezia spp.).

Zooplankter
refers to an individual animal in the zooplankton.

Zooplankton
plankton composed of animal life.