statoblast

statoblast

English

Etymology

stato- +‎ -blast

Noun

statoblast (plural statoblasts)

1. (zoology) One of a peculiar kind of internal buds, or germs, produced in the interior of certain Bryozoa and sponges. They are protected by a firm covering, and are usually destined to perpetuate the species during the winter season. They burst open and develop in the spring. In some freshwater sponges they serve to preserve the species during the dry season.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for statoblast in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)