INFAUNA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 June 2011

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INFAUNA  (n. pl. -E or -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) animal organisms living in or just underneath the soft sea floor

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -E, -L, -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: INFAUNAL (adj.)

Epilogue:
Organisms classified as INFAUNA live within or just underneath the muddy, sandy matter on the sea floor, whereas EPIFAUNA live on top of this sedimentary surface.  The word FAUNA itself, by the way, was first used to refer to the animal life of a particular region by the botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who took the word from the name of a Roman goddess of fertility and woodland life.  His two books Flora Suica (1745) and Fauna Suica (1746) also helped popularize the phrase “flora and fauna.”

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter i

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