xenarthran

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English

A southern three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus), a xenarthran
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Etymology

From Ancient Greek ξένος (xénos, strange) + ἄρθρον (árthron, joint).

Pronunciation

Noun

xenarthran (plural xenarthrans)

  1. (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. cruzi’s first hosts.

Usage notes

The xenarthrans were previously included within now obsolete (polyphyletic) order Edentata, along with aardvarks and pangolins.

Hypernyms

  • (any species of Xenarthra): edentate (obsolete classification)

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations