pelophilous

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

pelophilous (comparative more pelophilous, superlative most pelophilous)

1. (biology) Found in muddy environments; mud-dwelling.
   • 1913, Gerald O. Case, The Use of Vegetation for Reclaiming Tidal Lands, page ii:

     The hallophitic communities are divided into those that are psammaphilous, pelophilous, and helophilous, according as the substratum consists respectively of sand, of mud, or of swamp.

   • 2007, Bernhard A. Huber, Bradley J. Sinclair, Karl-Heinz Lampe, African Biodiversity, page 43:

     Pelophilous species burrow in sandy loam and clay soils, and display ecomorphological adaptations to assist with loosening these compacted substrata.

   • 2012, Pilar Rodriguez, Piet F.M. Verdonschot, Aquatic Oligochaete Biology VIII, page 225:

     Thus, two major ecological groupings are evident: the pelophilous group preferring soft sediments with slow current (strongly dominated by L. hoffmeisteri), and the psammophilous group inhabiting harder sediments with faster current (P. barbatus and others).

   • 2013, Norbert Wolnomiejski, Zbigniew Witek, The Szczecin Lagoon Ecosystem:

     Over the entrie 5-year period of the present study (1998-2002), the pelophilous macrofauna showed a moderate biomass, similar to that in 1975/76 and 1987-1992.