Vorticellas

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vorticella \Vor`ti*cel"la\, n.; pl. E. {Vorticellas}, L.
     {Vorticellae}. [NL., dim. fr. L. vortex. See {Vortex}.]
     (Zool.)
     Any one of numerous species of ciliated Infusoria belonging
     to {Vorticella} and many other genera of the family
     {Vorticellidae}. They have a more or less bell-shaped body


     with a circle of vibrating cilia around the oral disk. Most
     of the species have slender, contractile stems, either simple
     or branched.
     [1913 Webster]