Clitella

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A band of thickened tissue surrounding the reproductive segments of certain annelids, particularly earthworms
2. a structure involved in secreting a cocoon for fertilized eggs
3. significantly contributing to the reproductive process by facilitating the transfer of sperm between individuals

Etymology: "Clitella" is the plural of "clitellum", the swollen band of glandular tissue around the body of earthworms and leeches. Its name comes from a Latin word for a packsaddle, the padded frame laid on a pack animal's back, which the structure was thought to resemble. The Latin term "clitella" was used in the plural, "clitellae", and it was already a plural-only noun, meaning the pair of saddle-pads that hung across a donkey or mule. Early naturalists borrowed the Latin word into New Latin to name the band, and the idea behind the image is simple: the ring sits on the worm's body like a saddle sits on a beast. The worm's saddle is actually a working organ, since it secretes the mucus that forms a cocoon in which the fertilized eggs develop.