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Webster 1913 Edition
Tectibranchiata
‖
Tecˊti-branˊchi-a′ta
,Noun.
pl.
[NL., fr. L.
tectus
(p. p. of tegere
to cover) + Gr. [GREEK] a gill.] (Zool.)
An order, or suborder, of gastropod Mollusca in which the gills are usually situated on one side of the back, and protected by a fold of the mantle. When there is a shell, it is usually thin and delicate and often rudimentary. The aplysias and the bubble shells are examples.