n. (Zoöl.) One of the Echinodermata. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. (Zoöl.) Relating or belonging to the echinoderms. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr.
☞ The species usually have an exterior calcareous skeleton, or shell, made of many pieces, and often covered with spines, to which the name. They may be star-shaped, cylindrical, disk-shaped, or more or less spherical. The body consists of several similar parts (spheromeres) repeated symmetrically around a central axis, at one end of which the mouth is situated. They generally have suckers for locomotion. The group includes the following classes: Crinoidea, Asterioidea, Ophiuroidea, Echinoidea, and Holothurioidea. See these words in the Vocabulary, and also Ambulacrum. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. (Zoöl.) Relating to Echinodermata; echinodermal. [ 1913 Webster ]