1. Plural of endostyle; a longitudinal groove or ciliated structure found in the pharynx of certain aquatic animals (such as tunicates and amphioxus) that secretes mucus for filter feeding.
Usage: biology; zoology; technical term

Examples

• The endostyles of tunicates play a crucial role in their filter-feeding mechanism.
• Marine biologists study endostyles to understand how primitive chordates capture food particles.
• Amphioxus uses its endostyles to produce mucus that traps plankton.
• The ciliated endostyles move trapped food toward the esophagus.
• Comparative anatomy reveals that endostyles are homologous structures across different chordate groups.