Scu`ti*bran`chi*a"ta (?), n. pl. [NL. See Scutum, and Branchia.] Zool.

An order of gastropod Mollusca having a heart with two auricles and one ventricle. The shell may be either spiral or shieldlike.

⇒ It is now usually regarded as including only the Rhipidoglossa and the Docoglossa. When originally established, it included a heterogenous group of mollusks having shieldlike shells, such as Haliotis, Fissurella, Carinaria, etc.

 

© Webster 1913.