Plural of avicularium; claw-like or pincer-like structures on moss animals (bryozoans) used for capturing food and defending the colony.
From Latin 'avicula' (small bird) + '-aria' (plural), because these structures were thought to resemble tiny birds or eagle heads. They were named for their supposed resemblance to bird beaks.
These structures on bryozoans are actual moving pincers that snap at tiny prey—medieval naturalists saw them and thought they looked like tiny bird heads, so they named them accordingly.
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