Zool. [L. epitheca, Gr. ἐπιθήκη, f. ἐπί upon + θήκη case.] A continuous layer surrounding the thecæ in some corals.
Hence Epithecal a., of, or pertaining to, an epitheca. Epithecate a., provided with an epitheca.
1861. J. R. Greene, Man. Anim. Kingd., II. Cœlent., 190. The development … of an epitheca, cœnenchyma, and other similar structures.
1877. W. Thomson, Voy. Challenger, II. i. 51. The external surface of the calicle is covered with a glistering epitheca.
1883. Athenæum, 24 Nov., 673/3. The majority of the corallites of the colony arise from this basal epithecate structure.
