squamosal

American  

[skwuh-moh-suhl] / skwəˈmoʊ səl /

adjective

1. Anatomy. of or relating to the thin, scalelike portion of the temporal bone that is situated on the side of the skull above and behind the ear.

2. Zoology. pertaining to a corresponding bone in other vertebrates.

3. squamous.

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noun

1. a squamosal bone.

squamosal British  

/ skwəˈməʊsəl /

noun

1. a thin platelike paired bone in the skull of vertebrates: in mammals it forms part of the temporal bone

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adjective

1. of or relating to this bone

2. a less common word for squamous

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• supersquamosal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of squamosal

1840–50; < Latin squāmōs ( us ) squamous + -al ¹

Example Sentences

In mammals, the dentary bone joins the skull at the squamosal bone, while in other vertebrates, the quadrate bone of the jaw joins with the articular bone of the skull.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

It has especially prominent squamosal horns, an especially rugose-looking integument, and a neat, mottled pattern that involves black blotches on a greenish or yellowish ground colour.

From Scientific American • Feb. 22, 2014

Only one of these differences, the elongation of the posterodorsal squamosal fenestra, was the same as a difference noted above between topotypes of uligocola and modestus.

From Subspeciation in the Meadow Mouse, Microtus pennsylvanicus, in Wyoming, Colorado, and Adjacent Areas by Anderson, Sydney

The squamosal is attached dorsoventrally to the posterior part of the parietal and to the lateral part of the prootic.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John

The exoccipitals also form part of the base to which the squamosal is attached.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John