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janthina |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Janthina \Jan"thi*na\, n. (Zo["o]l.) See {Ianthina}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Ianthina \I*an"thi*na\, n.; pl L. {Ianthin[ae]}, E. {Ianthinas}. [NL., fr L. ianthinus violet-blue, Gr ?; ? violet + ? flower.] (Zo["o]l.) Any gastropod of the genus {Ianthina}, of which various species are found living in mid ocean; -- called also {purple shell}, and {violet snail}. [Written also {janthina}.] Note: It floats at the surface by means of a raft, which it constructs by forming and uniting together air bubbles of hardened mucus. The Tyrian purple of the ancients was obtained in part from mollusks of this genus.
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