noun
- One of the walking legs of a crustacean, typically found on the thorax or anterior abdomen.
Usage: zoology; technical term used in the study of crustaceans
Examples
- The crab uses its pereopods to walk along the ocean floor.
- Lobsters have five pairs of pereopods on their thorax.
- The first pair of pereopods in many crustaceans are modified into claws.
- Biologists examined the pereopods to classify the species.
- Each pereopod is jointed and allows for precise movement.