amphipneust Zool.
(ˈæmfɪpnjuːst)
[mod. f. Gr. ἀµϕί both + -πνευστ-ος breathing, f. πνέ(υ)-ειν to breathe. pl. -s, or collectively amphipneusta; first applied by Merrem 1790–1820.]
An animal that breathes both by lungs and by gills; a name given by some to the lowest order of the Amphibious animals, including the Proteus and Siren, which retain their gills all their lives.
| 1831 J. A. Gray in Penny Cycl. (1841) XIX. 408/2 In the second section (Amphipneusta) are placed the Protei. 1847 in Craig. |