xenarthran
English edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek ξένος (xénos, “strange”) + ἄρθρον (árthron, “joint”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
xenarthran (plural xenarthrans)
- (zoology) Any mammal of the superorder Xenarthra, of the Americas; an anteater, armadillo or sloth.
- 1978, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Mammalogy, page 355:
- Elephant-shrews, xenarthrans, hystricognathous rodents, cetaceans, some pinnipeds, and primates depart sharply from this trend, however.
- 2000, John F. Eisenberg, Kent H. Redford, Mammals of the Neotropics, volume 3, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, page 90:
- Xenarthrans appear to have originated in South America and to have undergone their major adaptive radiation there (Reig 1981).
- 2008, Christine Argot, “3: Changing Views in Paleontology: The Story of a Giant (Megatherium, Xenarthra)”, in Eric J. Sargis, Marian Dagosto, editors, Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology: A Tribute to Frederick S. Szalay, page 37:
- Only four xenarthran families are extant today, providing little indication of the past richness of the order.
- 2010, Ana Maria Jansen, André Luiz Rodrigues Roque, 11: Domestic and Wild Mammalian Reservoirs, Jenny Telleria, Michel Tibayrenc, American Trypanosomiasis: Chagas Disease: One Hundred Years of Research, page 249,
- Marsupials and xenarthrans, which represented the autochthonous mammalian fauna, were T.[Trypanosoma] cruzi’s first hosts.
Usage notes edit
The xenarthrans were previously included within now obsolete (polyphyletic) order Edentata, along with aardvarks and pangolins.
Hypernyms edit
- (any species of Xenarthra): edentate (obsolete classification)
Hyponyms edit
- (any species of Xenarthra): anteater, armadillo, glyptodont, pampathere, sloth