Found 1 items, similar to hectocotylus.
English → English (gcide) Definition: Hectocotylus Hectocotylus \Hec`to*cot"y*lus\, n.; pl. Hectocotyli. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a hundred + ? a hollow vessel.] (Zo["o]l.) One of the arms of the male of most kinds of cephalopods, which is specially modified in various ways to effect the fertilization of the eggs. In a special sense, the greatly modified arm of Argonauta and allied genera, which, after receiving the spermatophores, becomes detached from the male, and attaches itself to the female for reproductive purposes. [1913 Webster]