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salp (SALP) - n., any free-swimming, oceanic tunicate (subphylum Tunicata of phylum Chordata) of the genus Salpa, having a transparent, fusiform, barrel-shaped body.
Transparent, mind you -- which is kinda freaky, actually. Look them up. They move by pumping water through their bodies, and eat by filtering said water. Also called salpa (plural either salpas or salpae) -- which hints at the Latin origin, or at least adoption from same, as its root is Greek sálpē, kind of deep-water fish (probably a stockfish).
---L.
Transparent, mind you -- which is kinda freaky, actually. Look them up. They move by pumping water through their bodies, and eat by filtering said water. Also called salpa (plural either salpas or salpae) -- which hints at the Latin origin, or at least adoption from same, as its root is Greek sálpē, kind of deep-water fish (probably a stockfish).
---L.
