Definition of "decapod" [dec•a•pod]

• A crustacean of the order Decapoda, such as a crab, lobster, or shrimp, characteristically having ten legs, each joined to a segment of the thorax. (noun)
• A cephalopod mollusk, such as a squid or cuttlefish, having ten armlike tentacles. (noun)
• Of or relating to the Decapoda or a decapod. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The French embassy said a year-long research of fauna conducted in the deep-sea and coastal ecosystems of Panglao Island resulted in the discovery of over 1,200 species of decapod or 10-legged crustaceans and some 6,000 species of mollusks."
• "To put it in perspective, the whole decapod crustacean (shrimp or prawn) fauna of Japan barely exceeds 1,600 species."
• "Annotated checklist of marine decapod Crustacea from Shark Bay, Western Australia."