noun
- The walking legs of crustaceans, typically five pairs located on the thorax behind the maxillipeds.
Usage: zoology; plural form; singular is pereopod; technical term used in marine biology and crustacean anatomy
Examples
- Crabs use their pereopods to walk along the ocean floor.
- The first pair of pereopods in lobsters are often enlarged into claws.
- Marine biologists examined the pereopods to identify the crustacean species.
- Shrimp have eight pereopods that help them move through water.
- The pereopods of isopods are adapted for crawling on various substrates.