CRUSTACEAN

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does crustacean mean? 

• CRUSTACEAN (noun)
  The noun CRUSTACEAN has 1 sense:

1. any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton

  Familiarity information: CRUSTACEAN used as a noun is very rare.

• CRUSTACEAN (adjective)
  The adjective CRUSTACEAN has 1 sense:

1. of or belonging to the class Crustacea

  Familiarity information: CRUSTACEAN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRUSTACEAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("crustacean" is a kind of...):

arthropod (invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitin)

Meronyms (parts of "crustacean"):

green gland (one of a pair of glands (believed to have excretory functions) in some crustaceans near the base of the large antennae)

chela; claw; nipper; pincer (a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crustacean"):

malacostracan crustacean (a major subclass of crustaceans)

decapod; decapod crustacean (crustaceans characteristically having five pairs of locomotor appendages each joined to a segment of the thorax)

brachyuran (typical crabs)

stomatopod; stomatopod crustacean (a kind of crustacean)

branchiopod; branchiopod crustacean; branchiopodan (aquatic crustaceans typically having a carapace and many pairs of leaflike appendages used for swimming as well as respiration and feeding)

copepod; copepod crustacean (minute marine or freshwater crustaceans usually having six pairs of limbs on the thorax; some abundant in plankton and others parasitic on fish)

mussel shrimp; ostracod; seed shrimp (tiny marine and freshwater crustaceans with a shrimp-like body enclosed in a bivalve shell)

barnacle; cirriped; cirripede (marine crustaceans with feathery food-catching appendages; free-swimming as larvae; as adults form a hard shell and live attached to submerged surfaces)

Holonyms ("crustacean" is a member of...):

class Crustacea; Crustacea (class of mandibulate arthropods including: lobsters; crabs; shrimps; woodlice; barnacles; decapods; water fleas)

• CRUSTACEAN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or belonging to the class Crustacea

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Synonyms:

crustacean; crustaceous

Pertainym:

Crustacea (class of mandibulate arthropods including: lobsters; crabs; shrimps; woodlice; barnacles; decapods; water fleas)

 Context examples 

Distributed worldwide, crustaceans are distinguished by having two pairs of antenna-like appendages in front of the mouth and other paired appendages near the mouth that act like jaws.

(Crustacean, NCI Thesaurus)

Steep slopes in the seabed also cause an upwelling of sea currents that stimulate plankton and small crustaceans such as krill that the whale sharks feed on.

(New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities, Wikinews)

Seals, whales and penguins all feast on shrimplike crustaceans called Antarctic krill.

(Whaling and climate change lead to 100 years of feast or famine for Antarctic penguins, National Science Foundation)

Marine and fresh-water crustaceans that have their body enclosed in a bi-valved shell.

(Ostracods, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

Small amounts of vaterite crystals have been found in some sea and freshwater crustaceans, bird eggs, the inner ears of salmon, meteorites and rocks.

(Rare mineral discovered in plants for first time, University of Cambridge)

Luc Genes encode Luciferase, flavoprotein enzymes in certain marine crustaceans, fish, bacteria, and insects that catalyze bioluminescent oxidization of Luciferins to an electronically excited compound that emits energy in the form of light.

(Luc Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

Eggs of crustaceans and caviar of African toothcarp fish also managed to survive in outer space for 2.5 years, with the embryos revived after returning to Earth.

(Mutated Terrestrial Bacteria That Return from Space Pose Threat to Life on Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Furthermore, most allergic reactions to common food allergens, such as peanuts or crustacean shellfish, begin about 5 to 30 minutes after a person is exposed.

(NIAID scientists link cases of unexplained anaphylaxis to red meat allergy, National Institutes of Health)

Unlike red algae, whose blooms can damage the ecosystem, green algae form the basis of the food chain, providing food for crustaceans and larger organisms.

(Scientists report skyrocketing phyotplankton population in aftermath of Kīlauea eruption, Wikinews)

That's especially true for crustaceans and cephalopods, which are common prey for other animals and whose larvae migrate in the water column.

(Low ocean oxygen levels can blind sea creatures, National Science Foundation)