Gill Cleft (Noun)
Meaning
One of a series of slit openings in the pharynxes of fishes and aquatic amphibians through which water passes.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- The gill clefts of the shark were clearly visible as it swam by.
- Scientists studied the gill clefts in the preserved specimens of fossilized fish.
- The water flows in through the mouth, then out through the gill cleft.
- X-ray images revealed that the fish had seven gill clefts in total.
- Gill clefts developed from the slits between the pharyngeal arches.