macrobenthosn.
/ˌmakrəʊˈbɛnθɒs/, U.S. /ˈˌmækroʊˈbɛnˌθɑs/ Ecology.
The macrofauna of the benthos; spec. the organisms at or near the sea floor or a lake bed with a length of at least 1 mm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habitat > [noun] > of a particular region (fauna) > of particular type
ophiology1815
inquiline1879
pilgrim1888
microfauna1895
topomorph1897
faunule1909
cryptozoa1911
epifauna1914
macrofauna1918
megafauna1927
macrobenthos1942
meiobenthos1942
microbenthos1942
meiofauna1950
megafauna1975
1942 M. F. Mare in Jrnl. Marine Biol. Assoc. 25 519 A new terminology is needed, and these groups are here designated the macrobenthos, meiobenthos, and microbenthos.
1973 Nature 30 Mar. 324/1 Meiobenthos has a much wider dissemination than macrobenthos within the sediments.
1985 Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. 23 586 The high productivity..resulted chiefly from the very high densities of meiofauna and..typical estuarine macrobenthos was restricted in both variety and density.
1997 Jrnl. Northwest Atlantic Fishery Sci. 21 65 Winter flounder were found to feed on 18 different genera of macrobenthos.
Derivatives
macroˈbenthic adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habitat > [adjective] > relating to fauna > relating to particular types of
cryptic1897
cryptobiotic1914
microfaunal1935
microbenthic1941
Ediacaran1961
macrobenthic1967
meiobenthic1969
Ediacarian1972
1967 Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. 5 477 The population of characteristic macrobenthic animals includes four species: O. radiata, Nerine cirratulus, the isopod Eurydice affinis and the small pelecypod Mesodesma corneum.
1988 Nature 6 Oct. 535/1 The two active vent fields..are all devoid of the luxuriant macrobenthic communities that have become the hallmark of analogous mid-oceanic ridge sites studied to date.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1942