palponn.
/ˈpalpɒn/, /ˈpalpən/, U.S. /ˈpælˌpɑn/, /ˈpælpən/ Zoology.
An individual member of a siphonophore colony adapted for catching prey and for defence; a dactylozooid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Diploblastica > phylum Coelenterata > [noun] > class Hydrozoa > order Siphonophora > member of > zooid developed as feeler
dactylozooid1882
machopolyp1883
palpon1888
1888 E. Haeckel in Rep. Sci. Results Voy. H.M.S. Challenger: Zool. 28 16 Palpons or Tasters... These are always simple, thin-walled, very contractile sacs, in which the proximal portion communicates with the cavity of the stem, while the distal end is closed.
1898 A. Sedgwick Student's Text-bk. Zool. I. 138 The structures called palpons (hydrocysts, dactylozooids) are to be looked upon as mouthless manubria of medusoids.
1962 Science 31 Aug. 690/1 Orange-and-red pigment is often seen..in waste matter ejected from the palpons.
1983 Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 96 345 The bracts, with gastrozooids, tentacles, palpons, tentilla and gonophores, may detach from the stem and swim freely in the ocean.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1888