See Also: thermoreception(encyclopedia)

zoantharian (iou) and thermoreception (sh)


zoantharian (iou)



zoantharian noun & adjective. L19.
[from mod. Latin Zoantharia (see below), from Greek zoion animal + anthos flower: see -ARIAN.]
Zoology.
A. noun. An anthozoan of the subclass Zoantharia, which includes sea anemones and stony corals with polyps that bear more than eight, rarely pinnate, tentacles. L19.
b. adjective. Of or pertaining to this subclass. L19.
zo'anthid,
zoan'thidean nouns & adjectives (a) noun a zoantharian of the small order Zoanthidea, which includes small animals like sea anemones with a single siphonoglyph; (b) adjective of or pertaining to this order: L20.

thermoreception (sh)




Sensory capacity (see sense) to detect the temperature of the environment and the body.

It helps keep body temperature stable by regulating autonomic responses to temperature changes (see homeostasis). Temperature sensations are generated by separate heat and cold receptors (nerve endings) in the skin. Blood-sucking insects and some snakes (e.g., the pit viper) locate prey by its thermal radiation.