agnathan

ag·na·than  (gn-thn)

adj.

Lacking a lower jaw: agnathan fish.

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[a- + Greek gnathos, jaw; see genu-² in Indo-European roots + -an.]

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agnathan [ægˈneɪθən]

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any jawless eel-like aquatic vertebrate of the superclass Agnatha, which includes the lampreys and hagfishes

adj

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) of, relating to, or belonging to the superclass Agnatha See also cyclostome

[from New Latin agnatha, from a-¹ + Greek gnathos jaw]

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agnathan  (gn-thn)

Adjective

Lacking a jaw.

Noun

See jawless fish.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

agnathan - eel-shaped vertebrate without jaws or paired appendages including the cyclostomes and some extinct forms jawless fish, jawless vertebrate aquatic vertebrate - animal living wholly or chiefly in or on water Agnatha, superclass Agnatha - superclass of eel-shaped chordates lacking jaws and pelvic fins: lampreys; hagfishes; some extinct forms ostracoderm - extinct fish-like jawless vertebrate having a heavily armored body; of the Paleozoic heterostracan - extinct jawless fish with the anterior part of the body covered with bony plates; of the Silurian and Devonian cephalaspid, osteostracan - extinct jawless fish of the Devonian with armored head anaspid - extinct small freshwater jawless fish usually having a heterocercal tail and an armored head; of the Silurian and Devonian conodont - small (2 inches long) extinct eellike fish with a finned tail and a notochord and having cone-shaped teeth containing cellular bone; late Cambrian to late Triassic; possible predecessor of the cyclostomes cyclostome - primitive aquatic vertebrate lamper eel, lamprey, lamprey eel - primitive eellike freshwater or anadromous cyclostome having round sucking mouth with a rasping tongue hagfish, slime eels, hag - eellike cyclostome having a tongue with horny teeth in a round mouth surrounded by eight tentacles; feeds on dead or trapped fishes by boring into their bodies