zoo-, zoa-, zo-, -zoic, -zoid, -zoite, -zoal, -zonal, -zooid, -zoon, -zoa, -zoan

(Greek: animal, animals; living beings; life)

acanthozooid (s) (noun), acanthozooids (pl)
An animal with spines or spine-like growths: An acanthozooid is a member of the sessile aquatic coelomates and emits little tube-shaped structures extending as needle-like projections above the surface of the colony.
actinozoa, anthozoa (pl) (noun)
Solitary or colonial coelenterates without any free-swimming medusa stage and with the coelenteron divided by mesenteries: The actinozoa include most of the common sea-anemones and corals.

Coelenterata consist of a rather large phylum of sedentary or free-swimming animals having a radially symmetrical sac-like body with a mouth at one end, usually surrounded by a ring of stinging tentacles.

The digestive cavity, known as the "coelenteron", has only this opening, but repeated budding may give rise to a colony in which all the body-cavities are connected with each other.

The body-wall is "diploblastic" that is made of two layers of cells, ectoderm and endoderm, with a gelatinous layer known as the "mesogloea" between them.

The individuals of a colony are known as "polyps" or "hydroids". They form the asexual sedentary generation which alternates with a free-swimming sexual phase known as the "medusa". The latter is a disc-shaped jelly-fish which breaks away from the parent colony and swims away. It produces gametes and after fertilization has taken place, a new polyp colony develops.

Included in the Coelenterata are corals and anemones in which the hydroid stage is dominant, jelly-fish in which the medusoid stage is dominant, and complex forms such as the "Portuguese Man-of-war" formed by a large floating colony of diverse polyps.

—A.W. Leftwich, A Dictionary of Zoology;
Crane Russak & Company; New York; 1964.
actinozoal (adjective) (not comparable)
In zoology, pertaining to the Actinozoa: Jack wanted to find out more information about actinozoal lifeforms in the sea, including hydras, polyps, jellyfishes, and corals, for his term paper.
actinozoan (s) (noun), actinozoans (pl)
A saltwater organism: Such actinozoans include corals, sea anemones, and sea fans.
actinozoon (s) (noun), actinozoa (pl)
One of a large class of sedentary marine coelenterates in which the medusoid phase is entirely suppressed: The actinozoa include the sea anemones, sea-pens, and corals.

"Coelenterates" are invertebrate animals that include the hydras, jellyfishes, sea anemones, and corals, all of which are characterized by a single internal cavity serving for digestion, excretion, and other functions and having tentacles on the oral (mouth) end.

"Medusoid" refers to the tentacled, usually bell-shaped, free-swimming sexual stage in the life cycle of a coelenterate, such as a jellyfish.

agrizoology (s) (noun), agrizoologies (pl)
The study of wild animals: Since Judy loved animals that lived in forests, she got a book on agrizoology to learn more about their influence on soil conditions and how they are affected by soil situations.
agrizoophobia (s) (noun) (no pl)
An exceptional or excessive fright of all wild animals: As a result of her agrizoophobia, Nancy never wanted to go to the zoo with her parents, or even with the others in her class at school because she was so apprehensive that one of the animals might attack and kill her.
amorphozoa (pl) (noun)
Fauna without an oral cavity or regular internal organs: The sponges are considered to be amorphozoa because they lack the normal organic structure in their bodies like other animals.
amorphozoic (adjective) (not comparable)
Relating to the Amorphozoa: Amorphozoic creatures are characterised by the absence of normal bodily structures of internal organs, mouth, and other parts, as is the case with sponges.
anterozoa (pl) (noun)
In botany, cells that use a chemo-tactic stimulus to seek a female gamete in order to fertilize it: Joan found out in her botany book that anterozoa are the basic functional units that search for a female germ cell in order to inseminate it.
antherozoid, antherozooid (s) (noun), antherozoids; antherozooids (pl)
One of very many male gametes produced in the antheridia; spermatozoid: Alice thought it was quite interesting that antherozoids were found in algae, fungi, and spore-bearing vascular plants, like the ferns in her garden that developed antherozoids.
Anthozoa (pl) (noun)
In zoology, the class of sedentary marine coelenterates: Anthozoa, or Zoophytes, are called "Actinozoa" including the sea-anemones, coralline polypes, etc.

They exist either in a solitary manner or in a colony and their tentacles surround a central mouth.

anthozoan (s) (noun), anthozoans (pl)
An oceanic invertebrate of the class Anthozoa: An anthozoan is a solitary or colonial sessile coelenterate, which is permanently attached or fixed and not free-moving, and can be one of the corals, the sea pens, or the sea anemones.
anthozoic (adjective) (not comparable)
Pertaining to the Anthozoa: For her term paper, Susan wanted to find more information about anthozoic invertebrates including their habitats, kinds, and characteristics.
anthozooid (s) (noun), anthozooids (pl)
An individual invertebrate of the compound anthozoan: An anthozooid is an asexual living form, such as a coral colony, siphonophore, or bryozoan.

Related "animal" units: anima-; faun-; therio-.


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