fossorial
digging or burrowing.
adapted for digging, as the hands, feet, and bone structure of moles, armadillos, and aardvarks.
Origin of fossorial
1Other words from fossorial
- sub·fos·so·ri·al, adjective
Words Nearby fossorial
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fossorial in a sentence
Among the Vespoid families of fossorial wasps, the Pompilidae are the most important.
The moist soil and litter on the forest floor is an important microhabitat for fossorial and strictly terrestrial species.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico | William E. DuellmanIn the savannas Rhinophrynus dorsalis, Engystomops pustulosus, and Gastrophryne usta are fossorial species.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico | William E. DuellmanOf these, Syrrhophus pipilans sometimes inhabits low trees and bushes; the others may be fossorial.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico | William E. DuellmanIn the semi-arid scrub forest the same fossorial species as exist in the savannas are found.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico | William E. Duellman
British Dictionary definitions for fossorial
/ (fɒˈsɔːrɪəl) /
(of the forelimbs and skeleton of burrowing animals) adapted for digging
(of burrowing animals, such as the mole and armadillo) having limbs of this type
Origin of fossorial
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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