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bunodont

[ byoo-nuh-dont ]

adjective

  1. having molar teeth with crowns in the form of rounded or conical cusps.


bunodont

/ ˈbjuːnəˌdɒnt /

adjective

  1. (of the teeth of certain mammals) having cusps that are separate and rounded
“Collins 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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Word History and Origins

Origin of bunodont1

1870–75; < Greek boun ( ós ) hill + -odont
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bunodont1

from Greek bounos hill + -odont
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Example Sentences

Bunodont, bū′nō-dont, adj. having tuberculate molars—opp. to Lophodont.

In the existing members of the group the cheek-teeth approximate to the bunodont type, although showing signs of being degenerate modifications of the selenodont modification.

This is the more remarkable seeing that Elotherium may be regarded as a kind of bunodont Anthracotherium.

Finally, we have in the Pliocene of India the genus Tetraconodon, remarkable for the enormous size attained by the bluntly conical premolars; as the molars are purely bunodont, this genus seems to be a late and specialized survivor of a primitive type.

It is noteworthy, however, that in some instances there appears to have been a retrograde modification from the selenodont towards the bunodont type, the hippopotamus being a case in point.

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