Search the Dictionary

The larval form of any salamander while it still has external gills; especially, one of those which, like the axolotl (Amblystoma Mexicanum), sometimes lay eggs while in this larval state, but which under more favorable conditions lose their gills and become normal salamanders. See also Axolotl.

iren or family Sirenidæ, destitute of hind legs and pelvis, and having permanent external gills as well as lungs. They inhabit the swamps, lagoons, and ditches of the Southern United States. The more common species (Siren lacertina) is dull lead-gray in color, and becames two feet long.

A messmate; a companion. [Obs.] Scurvy knave! I am none of his firt-gills; I am none of his skainsmates. Shak.

An argillaceous rock which readily splits into thin plates; argillite; argillaceous schist.

A long cut; a narrow opening; as, a slit in the ear. Gill slit. (Anat.) See Gill opening, under Gill.

One of many species of small singing birds of the family Fringilligæ, having conical bills, and feeding chiefly on seeds. Many sparrows are called also finches, and buntings. The common sparrow, or house sparrow, of Europe (Passer domesticus) is noted for its familiarity, its voracity, its attachment to its young, and…

f marine Annelida, including those that are without oral tentacles or cirri, and have the gills, when present, mostly arranged along the sides of the body. They generally live in burrows or tubes.

A tubular orifice communicating with the gill cavity of certain ganoid and all elasmobranch fishes. It is the modified first gill cleft.

One of the apertures of the gill of an ascidian, and of Amphioxus.

The fossil root stem of a coal plant of the genus Sigillaria.

Any cruciferous plant of the genus Matthiola; as, common stock (Matthiola incana) (see Gilly-flower); ten-weeks stock (M. annua).

ontains a part of the stomach and heart; the abdominal appendages are large, and bear the gills. Called also Gastrula, Stomatopoda, and Squilloidea.

Situated above the branchiæ; -- applied especially to the upper division of the gill cavity of bivalve mollusks.

An order of slender eel-like fishes having the gill openings confluent beneath the neck. The pectoral arch is generally attached to the skull, and the entire margin of the upper jaw is formed by the premaxillary. Called also Symbranchia.

quatic larva of any amphibian. In this stage it breathes by means of external or internal gills, is at first destitute of legs, and has a finlike tail. Called also polliwig, polliwog, porwiggle, or purwiggy.

An order, or suborder, of gastropod Mollusca in which the gills are usually situated on one side of the back, and protected by a fold of the mantle. When there is a shell, it is usually thin and delicate and often rudimentary. The aplysias and the bubble shells are examples.

Having the gills covered by the mantle; of or pertaining to the Tectibranchiata. -- n.

rge naked mollusks having a very large, broad, fringed cephalic disk, and branched dorsal gills. Some of the species become a foot long and are brilliantly colored.

An order of Cephalopoda having four gills. Among living species it includes only the pearly nautilus. Numerous genera and species are found in the fossil state, such as Ammonites, Baculites, Orthoceras, etc.

Having the gills situated upon the neck; -- said of certain mollusks.