dioecious is used to refer to animals as well as plants.  Try another
dictionary or better yet a biology book's glossary.
 
Random House Dictionary of the English Language:
DIOECIOUS, Biol. (esp. of plants) having the male and female organs in
separate and distinct individuals; having separate sexes.
 
Torre-bueno Glossary of Entomology:
DIOECIOUS, with distinct sexes; unisexual, male and female gametes produced
in separate individuals; having the male and female organs in different
individuals, any one individual being either male or female.
 
I believe the term started as part of plant classification:
Class Dioecia, plants distinguished by having the stamens and pistils in
separate flowers and on different plants.  That might be why Websters has a
plant only definition.
 
Amy
 
>Hello!
>
>Hi to all, especially PaulM and JoseL,
>
>First thanks again for the definitions and at least a place to get me
>started. Both of the definitions are sort of OK but there seems to be
>something missing.  Since biology is a science very dependent on
>definitions these; dioecious and gonochorist seem isufficient or lacking
>in some way.
>
>In accordance with Webster, the dictionary, that is; dioecious refers to
>plants, as each plant having staminate flowers or pistillate flowers ie.
>female flowers and male flowers. Papayas are like that, a male plant and
>a female plant, so are many others. As for gonochorist; this term refers
>to a dioecious individual in which sex development is determined by
>developmental rather than hereditary mechanisms.
>
>My new or futher question; is there a more definitive term for this
>dioecious state in molluscs or any critter in the animal kingdom?
>--
>Later,
>
>Emilio Jorge Power
>
>Please visit;
>"The Liguus Home Page"
>http://pw1.netcom.com/~ejpower/lighompage.html
 
 
Amy Edwards, Program Coordinator ------ [log in to unmask]
 
Museum of Natural History        --------        phone (706) 542-4137
University of Georgia            --------            FAX 706-542-3920
Athens, GA 30602-1882       --------       http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"A man's mind, stretched by new ideas, can never go back to its original
dimensions."             Oliver Wendell Holmes