Amorphozoa

/ˌæmɔːrfoʊˈzoʊə/ noun

Definition

An archaic zoological term for primitive animals or organisms lacking definite bodily form.

Etymology

From Greek amorph- (formless) + zoon (animal). An obsolete taxonomic category from early biological classification systems.

Kelly Says

Before microscopes got good, naturalists looked at jellyfish and basic sea creatures and basically called them 'formless animals' because they couldn't imagine a body plan so different from what they knew—'amorphozoa' is how confusion became scientific terminology.

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