Defn: A crustacean with ten feet or legs, as a crab; one of the
Decapoda. Also used adjectively.
DECAPODA
De*cap"o*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr.
1. (Zoöl.)
Defn: The order of Crustacea which includes the shrimps, lobsters, crabs, etc.
Note: They have a carapace, covering and uniting the somites of the head and thorax and inclosing a gill chamber on each side, and usually have five (rarely six) pairs of legs. They are divided into two principal groups: Brachyura and Macrura. Some writers recognize a third (Anomura) intermediate between the others.
2. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A division of the dibranchiate cephalopods including the cuttlefishes and squids. See Decacera.
DECAPODAL; DECAPODOUS
Dec*ap"o*dal, Dec*ap"o*dous, a. (Zoöl.)
Defn: Belonging to the decapods; having ten feet; ten-footed.
DECARBONATE
De*car"bon*ate, v. t.