/ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛliː/, /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛlʌɪ/, U.S. /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛli/, /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛlaɪ/.membranellan.
/ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛlə/, U.S. /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛlə//ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛliː/, /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛlʌɪ/, U.S. /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛli/, /ˌmɛmbrəˈnɛlaɪ/. Biology.
= membranelle n. Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > protozoa > class Infusoria > subclass Ciliata > [noun] > parts of member of > cilia
membranella1880
1880–1 W. Saville-Kent Man. Infusoria I. 65 These modified cilia are much flattened or compressed, and appropriately receive from him [sc. Sterki] the distinctive title of ‘membranellæ’.
1896 J. W. Kirkaldy & E. C. Pollard tr. J. E. V. Boas Text Bk. Zool. 92 (note) In some Infusoria there are the so-called membranellæ, vibrating, laminating structures, each of which is regarded as a short row of fused cilia.
1911 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 84 340 7 hours after section the adoral membranellæ were regenerated.
1948 Jrnl. Animal Ecol. 17 128 It shows at the anterior end a red pigment spot or a spreading accumulation of the same pigment under the membranellae of the dorsal fringe.
1987 M. S. Laverack & J. Dando Lect. Notes Invertebr. Zool. (ed. 3) ii. 20/1 Cilia may be separate or combined in compound structures such as cirri, membranellae or undulating membranes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1880