diphycercal

[ dif-uh-sur-kuh l ]

/ ˌdɪf əˈsɜr kəl /

adjective Ichthyology.

having a tail or caudal fin with the spinal column extending horizontally to the end of the tail, characteristic of lungfish, several other primitive fishes, and the juvenile stage of modern bony fishes.

Nearby words

Compare homocercal, heterocercal.

Origin of diphycercal

diphy- double (see diphyodont) + Greek kérk(os) a tail + -al¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for diphycercal

The tail is diphycercal in all, ending in a long point, and the body is covered with cycloid scales.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
The tail is diphycercal, heterocercal, or else it degenerates into a whip-like organ, a form which has been called leptocercal.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
The tail may be heterocercal, as in Acipenser, or diphycercal as in Polypterus.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
In Dipterus there are no marginal teeth, and the tail is heterocercal, not diphycercal, as in the other Dipnoans generally.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

In most primitive types, as in most embryonic fishes, the vertebræ grow smaller to the last (diphycercal).
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for diphycercal

diphycercal

/ (ˌdɪfɪˈsɜːkəl) /

adjective

ichthyol of or possessing a symmetrical or pointed tail with the vertebral column extending to the tip, as in primitive fishes

Word Origin for diphycercal

C19: from Greek diphuēs twofold (from di 1 + phuē growth) + kerkos tail

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