pelo-combining form of Gr. πηλός clay, mud, occurring in a few rarely used scientific words, chiefly zoological. pelobatid|piːləʊˈbætɪd|, an amphibian of the family Pelobatidæ, typified by the genus Pelobates[βάτης walker]; so pelobatoid|piːˈlɒbətɔɪd|a., belonging to or resembling this genus or family; pelobiid|-ˈbaɪɪd|, a beetle of the family Pelobiidæ, typified by the genus Pelobius[-βιος living]; so pelobioid|piːˈlɒbɪɔɪd|a.; pelodytid|-ˈdɪtɪd|, an amphibian of the family Pelodytidæ, typified by the genus Pelodytes[δύτης diver]; so pelodytoid|piːˈlɒdɪtɔɪd|a.; pelolithic|-ˈlɪθɪk|a.Geol.[λίθος stone], applied to rock-strata consisting of clay; pelomedusid|-mɪˈdjuːsɪd|, a tortoise of the family Pelomedusidæ, typified by the genus Pelomedusa; so pelomeˈdusoida.; ˈpelophileEcol.[a. F. pélophile (J. Thurmann Essai de Phytostatique (1849) I. xiii. 268): see -phil], a plant growing on mud or clay; pelophilous|piːˈlɒfɪləs|a.[-philous], clay-loving.1956Nature 18 Feb. 342/2 I have examined tadpoles of the *pelobatid Megophrys major.1888Athenæum 3 Mar. 279/2 He [Prof. G. B. Howes] regarded their total absence in Pelobates and Pelodytes as fresh evidence of the *pelobatoid, rather than the discoglossid affinities of the last-named genus.1884Geol.Mag. 526 The Coral Rag is only an episode in the *pelolithic series; it is absent throughout a distance of nearly 120 miles, and over this tract there is a complete passage from the Oxford into the Kimmeridge Clay.1905B. D. Jackson Gloss.Bot. Terms (ed. 2) 345/1 *Pelophile.., a clay-loving plant.1960N. Polunin Introd. Plant Geogr. xvi. 528 It is also possible..to categorize marine Algae according to..the nature of their substratum (such as epiliths attached to rocks, or pelophiles growing on mud.)1888F. A. Lees Flora W. Yorks. 80 The chief *pelophilous species in the [West] Riding.1909E. Warming Oecol. Plants lviii. 230 (heading) Pelophilous halophytes.
pelo-/ˈpi:ləʊ, ˈpɛləʊ/combining form of Greek pēlos clay, mud: see -o-.