The plural of axopodium; slender, stiff pseudopodia supported by an internal axial rod of microtubules, found in certain protozoans.
From Greek 'axon' (axis) + 'podia' (feet/legs), literally 'axis-feet,' describing appendages with an internal axial support structure.
Radiolarians and heliozoans use axopodia like living grid-traps to capture food particles from the ocean—the internal microtubule axis keeps them perfectly straight and rigid, unlike the floppy pseudopodia of other protozoans.
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