branchiopoda Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun primitive aquatic mainly freshwater crustaceans: fairy shrimps; brine shrimps; tadpole shrimps; can shrimps; water fleas
subclass Branchiopoda.

Gr. gill + -poda: cf. F. branchiopode.

(Zoöl.) 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.