copepod

From Ancient Greek κώπη (kṓpē, “handle”) + -pod.

copepod (plural copepods)

1. Any of very many small crustaceans of the subclass Copepoda, that are widely distributed and ecologically important.
   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, 2013 edition, Granta Books, page 270:

     To eat, the whale takes a wide-open gulp of water and closes its jaws to a slit so that as it pushes its tongue forwards and upwards, water is forced through the baleen while the copepods, krill and other animals it likes to eat remain in its mouth.

• copepodid
• copepodite