thigmotaxis


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

thig·mo·tax·is

 (thĭg′mə-tăk′sĭs)
n.
Movement of an organism in response to contact with a solid body.

[Greek thigma, touch (from thinganein, to touch; see dheigh- in Indo-European roots) + -taxis.]

thig′mo·tac′tic (-tăk′tĭk) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thigmotaxis

(ˌθɪɡməˈtæksɪs)
n, pl -taxes (-ˈtæksiːz)
(Biology) another name for stereotaxis
[C19: from Greek thigma touch + -taxis]
ˌthigmoˈtactic adj
ˌthigmoˈtactically adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

thigmotaxis

involuntary response or reaction to the touch of outside objects or bodies, as in motile cells. — thigmotactic, adj.
See also: Biology
involuntary response or reaction to the touch of outside objects or bodies, as in motile cells. — thigmotaetic, adj.
See also: Touch
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
In previously determining that these animals prefer to swim away from the light (negative phototaxis) and preferably be touching the sides of the tanks (positive thigmotaxis), they first set about asking whether these preferences could be altered by the size and shape of their testing tanks.
Thigmotaxis (swimming along the walls of the pool) was not observed among Cdkl5 female genotypes.