The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ophidium
Ophidion \O*phid"i*on\, n.; pl. Ophidia. [L., fr. Gr. ? little snake, fr. 'o`fis a serpent.] (Zo["o]l.) The typical genus of ophidioid fishes. [Written also Ophidium.] See Illust. under Ophidioid.
Usage examples of "ophidium".
Serpents, or Snakes, says the Encyclopaedia, are reptiles of the saurian class Ophidia, characterised by an elongated, cylindrical, limbless, scaly form, and distinguished from lizards by the fact that the halves (RAMI) of the lower jaw are not solidly united at the chin, but movably connected by an elastic ligament.