1Entomology A six-legged arthropod belonging to the class Hexapoda.
‘researchers noted that hexapods and crustaceans shared a different set of important morphological characters’
‘the oldest known land animal is a hexapod found in Scotland, dated at 405 million years’
‘The matter focuses on an order of minuscule hexapods called collembolans, or springtails, which includes thousands of species.’
‘Phylogenetic analyses of a wide variety of gene sequences all support the hypothesis that hexapods and crustaceans form a monophyletic group to the exclusion of myriapods and chelicerates.’
‘Presumably (assuming insects do derive from Crustacea) primitive hexapods evolved from marginal marine and amphibious crustaceans during the late Silurian or early Devonian.’
‘There are three lineages of primitively wingless hexapods that lack a dorsal appendage branch, and one, the Archaeognatha, with such a branch.’
‘Major sections cover the relationships and evolution of each order of hexapods, or six-legged creatures.’
2A six-legged robot.
‘each of the hexapod's legs are equipped with pressure sensors which allow the bot to respond to its terrain’
‘The hexapod had to be considerably lightened and overhauled with a body made from carbon fiber instead of ABS plastic.’
‘The hexapod is ideal for many applications including industrial automation and manufacturing.’
‘It is actually the second version of the largest all-terrain hexapod in the world.’
‘With six legs, the hexapod tootles along quite happily at 26 centimeters per second.’
‘We just saw a hexapod which deposits hot glue as it roams.’
Origin
Mid 17th century from Greek hexapous, hexapod-, from hex ‘six’ + pous ‘foot’.
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