periostracumn.
/ˌpɛrɪˈɒstrəkəm/, U.S. /ˌpɛriˈɑstrəkəm/ Zoology.
The outer horny or fibrous organic covering of the shell of a mollusc or brachiopod. Cf. epidermis n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Brachiopoda > [noun] > member of > parts of
periosteum1758
periostracum1833
pallium1834
mantle cavity1853
adjustor1857
jugum1888
protegulum1891
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell
seashella900
shale1561
buckie1596
caracol1622
valve1661
spire1681
umbilicus1688
conch-shell1697
wart-shell?1711
needle1713
multivalve1753
concha1755
periosteum1758
conch1773
devil's claw1773
furbelow1776
peewit's egg1776
worm-tube1776
rosebud1815
sheath1815
periostracum1833
epicuticle1885
epicuticula1886
leg of mutton1891
trivalve1891
1833 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 123 773 In such shells as are enveloped in the mantles of their animals.., the outer coat or periostracum is very thin.
1870 H. A. Nicholson Man. Zool. I. xli. 230 All living shells have an outer layer of animal matter, which is known as the ‘epidermis’, or ‘periostracum’.
1901 E. Step Shell Life i. 25 Outside all there is a kind of animal varnish, protecting the shell from many injuries, and this is known sometimes as the epidermis, but more correctly as the periostracum.
1948 Ecol. Monogr. 18 379/1 Some unusual features..are the normal and common occurrence of both sinistral and dextral coiling of shells, smooth and hirsute periostraca, [etc.].
1999 Jrnl. Biogeogr. 26 1058/2 Living or recently dead specimens (i.e. those with an intact or partial periostracum..) only are considered here.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1833