ostracophil

ostracophil
1) a reproductive guild (q.v.) of snail loving, referring to small members of some African Cichlidae that live in empty snail shells
2) a reproductive guild (q.v.) of snail loving, but referring to fish hiding eggs in invertebrates. Eggs are deposited by an ovipositor inside clams but also in crabs or ascidians. The eggs have large, dense yolks, lobes or unculi, photophobia prevents expulsion of free embryos, and there are large embryonic respiratory plexuses and carotenoids, e.g. the cyprinid Rhodeus sericeus

Dictionary of ichthyology. 2009.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shell dwellers — The terms shell dwellers or shelldwellers, shell breeding, or ostracophil are descriptive terms for cichlid fish that use the empty shells of aquatic snails as sites for breeding and shelter. The terms have no taxonomic basis, although most shell …   Wikipedia

  • ostracophilous — adjective for ostracophil …   Dictionary of ichthyology

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