priapulid

English

Etymology

From scientific Latin Priapulus (genus name) +‎ -id.

Noun

priapulid (plural priapulids)

1. (zoology) Any small marine worm of the phylum Priapulida.
   • 2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 30:

     Like Kimberella’s scrape marks that connect it to modern mollusks, these ancient burrows were certainly created, if not by true priapulids, then by something very similar indeed.

   • 2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 254:

     The holes that litter the seabed are entrances to the burrows of priapulids – ‘penis worms’, named for their appearance – and their armoured cousins, the palaeoscolecids.

Synonyms

• penis worm

Related terms

• Priapulida

References

• Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (Margulis & Schwartz) →ISBN