operculum
Noun

operculum (plural opercula)

  1. (zoology) A covering flap in animals, such as a gill cover.
    • 2017, Susannah Lydon, The Guardian, 18 January ↗:
      Hyoliths […] have a small, conical calcium carbonate shell, with a lid called an operculum.
  2. (botany) The lidlike portion of a moss sporangium or of a fruit that detaches to allow the dispersal of spores or seeds.
  3. A structure which serves as a cover or lid.
    • 1901, H. G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon, chapter IX, page 95
      I lifted the circular operculum from its place and laid it carefully on the bale.
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