Phyl*lop"o*da (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. a leaf + -poda.] Zool.
An order of Entomostraca including a large number of species, most of which live in fresh water. They have flattened or leaflike legs, often very numerous, which they use in swimming. Called also .
In some, the body is covered with a bivalve shell (Holostraca); in others, as Apus, by a shield-shaped carapace (Monostraca); in others, like Artemia, there is no carapace, and the body is regularly segmented. Sometimes the group is made to include also the Cladocera.
© Webster 1913.