Brăn'chi-ŏp'o-dă or Brăn'chi-o-pod, n. pl.

n. pl. [Fr. branchiopode, Gr. βράγχιον, gill, and πούς, ποδός, foot.] (Zool.) An order of crustacea, generally very small or minute; — so named from their feet, or locomotive extremities, having been supposed to perform the function of gills. It includes the genera Branchippus, Apus, Limnadia, and a few others, in which the feet are very numerous, and lamellar. The species of Branchippus are common in small fresh-water ponds.