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epipsammon. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
From epipsammic + -on.
Noun
epipsammon (uncountable)
- The community of microscopic species (e.g., diatoms) that attach themselves to grains of sand.
2017, Anton McLachlan, Omar Defeo, The Ecology of Sandy Shores, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 63:The benthic microflora of marine sands includes bacteria, blue-green bacteria (cyanobacteria), autotrophic flagellates, and diatoms. Those attached to sand grains are generally known as epipsammon (Fig. 4.1).
- The community of biota or fauna that live on top of sand.
1980, Ecological Characterization of the Sea Island Coastal Region of South Carolina and Georgia (FWS/OBS; 79/42), volume 3, Fish and Wildlife Service, →OCLC, page 83:These groups are 1) the epipsammon, or surface-dwelling, generally motile macrofauna; 2) the endopsammon, or burrowing species that are too large to live in interstitial spaces; and 3) the mesopsammon, or interstitial fauna. The epipsammon is limited to a few groups such as fish or birds which are strong or speedy enough to exploit this turbulent environment.