(n)aquatic crustaceans typically having a carapace and many pairs of leaflike appendages used for swimming as well as respiration and feeding, Syn.branchiopodan, branchiopod
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English (GCIDE) v.0.53Collaborative International Dictionary (GCIDE)
‖n. pl. [ Gr. &unr_; gill + -poda: cf. F. branchiopode. ] (Zool.) An order of Entomostraca; -- so named from the feet of branchiopods having been supposed to perform the function of gills. It includes the fresh-water genera Branchipus, Apus, and Limnadia, and the genus Artemia found in salt lakes. It is also called Phyllopoda. See Phyllopoda, Cladocera. It is sometimes used in a broader sense. [ 1913 Webster ]