Dictionary

fixosessile en · NOUN

Etymology

From fix + -o- + sessile.

Meanings

1. An organism that attaches firmly (fixes) to a surface (sessile), forming permanent, immobile colonies or individuals, like certain corals, brachiopods, or rotifers that anchor themselves to rocks or plants.
   • In central Kentucky, this bentonite occurs in the peritidal Tyrone Formation and overlies a widespread, flat, hardground/firmground surface that experienced sediment starvation for periods long enough to support colonies of the fixosessile tabulate coral, Phytopsis cellulosum. 2023, Frank Ettensohn, “LATE ORDOVICIAN TRACE FOSSILS LEFT BY FIXOSESSILE CORAL COLONIES AT A PRE-BENTONITE DIASTEM, CENTRAL KENTUCKY, USA”, in The Geological Society of America, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2024:
   • the transition of fixosessile rock dwellers back to soft substrates has resulted in fast and drastic morphological changes 1983, Seilacher, A., “Constructional morphology of bivalves: evolutionary pathways in primary versus secondary soft-bottom dwellers [twenty-fourth annual address, delivered 10 March 1983]”, in The Paleontological Association:

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