‖ epitheca Zool.
(ɛpɪˈθiːkə)
[L. epitheca, Gr. ἐπιθήκη, f. ἐπί upon + θήκη case.]
A continuous layer surrounding the thecæ in some corals.
Hence epiˈthecal a., of, or pertaining to, an epitheca. epiˈthecate a., provided with an epitheca.
| 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd. ii. Cœlent. 190 The development..of an epitheca, cœnenchyma, and other similar structures. 1877 W. Thomson Voy. Challenger II. i. 51 The external surface of the calicle is covered with a glistering epitheca. 1883 Athenæum 24 Nov. 673/3 The majority of the corallites of the colony arise from this basal epithecate structure. |