Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of or belonging to the Ascidia or Tunicata.
- noun One of the Ascidia or Tunicata; a sea-squirt.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) One of the Ascidioidea, or in a more general sense, one of the Tunicata. Also as an adj.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any member of the class
Ascidiacea (thesea squirts )
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun minute sedentary marine invertebrate having a saclike body with siphons through which water enters and leaves
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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It is an interesting fact that vanadium is an essential element to [[ascidian]] s, also known as sea squirts.
Vanadium 2008
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Kenjo A, et al., Cloning and characterization of novel ficolins from the solitary ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi.
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On the left is a urochordate, an ascidian, a sessile, filter-feeding blob that is anchored to rocks or pilings and sucks in sea water to extract microorganismal meals.
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On the left is a urochordate, an ascidian, a sessile, filter-feeding blob that is anchored to rocks or pilings and sucks in sea water to extract microorganismal meals.
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A new transglutaminase-like from the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.
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The so-called tethyum or ascidian has of all these animals the most remarkable characteristics.
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With regard to testaceans, of the walking or creeping species the urchin appears to have the least developed sense of smell; and, of the stationary species, the ascidian and the barnacle.
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If the animal be opened, it is found to have, in the first place, a tendinous membrane running round inside the shell-like substance, and within this membrane is the flesh-like substance of the ascidian, not resembling that in other molluscs; but this flesh, to which I now allude, is the same in all ascidia.
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The colour of the ascidian is in some cases sallow, and in other cases red.
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As a general rule, then, all testaceans grow by spontaneous generation in mud, differing from one another according to the differences of the material; oysters growing in slime, and cockles and the other testaceans above mentioned on sandy bottoms; and in the hollows of the rocks the ascidian and the barnacle, and common sorts, such as the limpet and the nerites.
dhuber commented on the word ascidian
OED: A. adj. Of or pertaining to the Ascidia (or Ascidiæ), a group of animals belonging to the tunicate Mollusca, considered by evolutionists to constitute a link in the development of the Vertebrata. B. n. A member of this group. see -ARIUM, the aggregate mass of organisms in compound ascidians. asmscidioid a., resembling the Ascidia. ascidiozooid, one of the organisms forming an ascidiarium.
September 27, 2008
dhuber commented on the word ascidian
OED: A. adj. Of or pertaining to the Ascidia (or Ascidiæ), a group of animals belonging to the tunicate Mollusca, considered by evolutionists to constitute a link in the development of the Vertebrata. B. n. A member of this group. see -ARIUM, the aggregate mass of organisms in compound ascidians. asmscidioid a., resembling the Ascidia. ascidiozooid, one of the organisms forming an ascidiarium.
September 27, 2008
mollusque commented on the word ascidian
They're no longer considered to be part of the Mollusca.
September 27, 2008
reesetee commented on the word ascidian
A.k.a. sea squirt, yes mollusque?
Even if it isn't, I just like saying sea squirt.
September 29, 2008
mollusque commented on the word ascidian
The ascidians have been broken up into several groups, so some things called sea squirts are no longer classified as ascidians, but with the Stolidobranchiata, for example. There are also compound ascidians that you probably wouldn't think of as sea squirts. They're all classified as tunicates (which are related to chordates not mollusks).
September 29, 2008
reesetee commented on the word ascidian
I see. Thanks!
September 29, 2008
jmjarmstrong commented on the word ascidian
JM wants to meet an ascidian so he can say 'Howdy, squirt!' without fear of getting punched in the nose.
July 25, 2010