Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Aquatic animals, such as starfish, flounder, or barnacles, that live on the surface of a sea or lake bottom or on the surface of a submerged substrate, such as rocks or aquatic plants and animals, but that do not burrow into or beneath the surface.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
fauna characterized by members whose typical life sites are on theouter surface of theirenvironment , as opposed towithin it, e.g.animals living on top of thesediment at theseafloor .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word epifauna.
Examples
-
This species is found in high densities along with a very rich epifauna, including a high diversity of sponges.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.