The condition or characteristic of having hidden, reduced, or concealed gills, typically found in certain amphibians.
From 'crypto-' plus 'branchia' (Greek for 'gills'), this scientific noun describes a morphological feature. The term was developed in 19th-century zoological classification to identify amphibians with gill structures that differ from typical fish gills.
This word names a genuine biological mystery: some amphibians seem to have 'missing' gills, but they're actually there, hidden under skin folds. Scientists noticed this pattern and created a term for this invisible feature.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.