millepore

millepore
/mil"euh pawr', -pohr'/, n.
a coralline hydrozoan of the genus Millepora, having a smooth calcareous surface with many perforations.
[1745-55; < NL millepora, equiv. to mille thousand + -pora passage; see PORE2]

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also called  stinging coral, or pepper coral 
 (Millepora), any of a genus of invertebrate marine animals comprising the order Milleporina (phylum Cnidaria). Millepores are common in shallow tropical seas to depths of 30 metres (about 100 feet). Unlike the true corals, which belong to the class Anthozoa, millepores are closely related to the Hydra (q.v.). Both hydras and the millepores belong to the class Hydrozoa. Some species form branching treelike growths up to 50 centimetres (about 20 inches) high. Others form massive and shapeless or leaflike growths. Most are whitish, yellowish, or beige in colour. As with other cnidarians, they bear powerful stinging structures called nematocysts, which are used for defense and for capturing food.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • millépore — [ mi(l)lepɔr ] n. m. • 1742; prononc. latinisée de mille pore ♦ Zool. Polypier calcaire (hydrocoralliaires) des mers chaudes. ● millépore nom masculin (latin mille, mille, et pore) Hydrocoralliaire (hydrozoaire …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • millepore — [mil′əpôr΄] n. [Fr millépore < mille, thousand + pore < L porus, PORE2] any of an order (Milleporina) of coral like hydrozoans that form branching or leaflike calcareous masses with small openings on the surface …   English World dictionary

  • Millepore — Mil le*pore (m[i^]l l[ e]*p[=o]r), n. [L. mille thousand + porus pore: cf. F. mill[ e]pore.] (Zo[ o]l.) Any coral of the genus Millepora, having the surface nearly smooth, and perforated with very minute unequal pores, or cells. The animals are… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • millepore — [ mɪlɪpɔ:] noun Zoology a fire coral. Origin C18: from Fr. millépore or mod. L. millepora, from L. mille thousand + porus pore …   English new terms dictionary

  • MILLÉPORE — s. m. T. d Hist. nat. Genre de polypiers pierreux, dont la surface est creusée d une multitude de pores …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • MILLÉPORE — n. m. T. d’Histoire naturelle Genre de polypier pierreux dont la surface est creusée d’une multitude de pores …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

  • millépore — (mil lé po r ) s. m. Terme d histoire naturelle. Genre de polypiers pierreux dont la surface est creusée d une multitude de pores. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Mille, et pore …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • millepore — mil·le·pore …   English syllables

  • millepore — mil•le•pore [[t]ˈmɪl əˌpɔr, ˌpoʊr[/t]] n. mcr a hydrozoan of the genus Millepora that inhabits tropical seas and builds perforated corallike reefs • Etymology: 1745–55; < NL, = L mille thousand + pora passage; see pore II …   From formal English to slang

  • millepore — /ˈmɪləpɔ/ (say miluhpaw) noun a coralline hydrozoan of the genus Millipora, having a smooth calcareous surface with many perforations. {New Latin millepora, from Latin mille thousand + porus pore2} …  

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