cheilostome

noun

chei·​lo·​stome ˈkī-lə-ˌstōm 

variants or less commonly chilostome

plural cheilostomes also chilostomes

: a bryozoan of the order Cheilostomata

Cheilostomes are a diverse group of predominantly sessile invertebrates that have been abundant on the sea floor for about 100 million years.

—Jeremy B. C. Jackson and Alan H. Cheetham, Science, 4 May 1990

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Cheilostoma, singular of Cheilostomata cheilostomata

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

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