fossorial

American  

[fo-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-] / fɒˈsɔr i əl, -ˈsoʊr- /

adjective

Zoology.

1. digging or burrowing.

2. adapted for digging, as the hands, feet, and bone structure of moles, armadillos, and aardvarks.

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fossorial British  

/ fɒˈsɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. (of the forelimbs and skeleton of burrowing animals) adapted for digging

2. (of burrowing animals, such as the mole and armadillo) having limbs of this type

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Other Word Forms

• subfossorial adjective

Etymology

Origin of fossorial

1830–40; < Late Latin fossōri ( us ) adapted to digging (equivalent to Latin fod ( ere ) to dig + tōrius -tory ¹, with dt > ss ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

All members of the Satyrex genus are fossorial, meaning they spend their lives underground.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

Here in the Pacific Northwest spring, tiger salamanders emerge from their fossorial homes to breed, and the poisonous rough-skinned newt accelerates its activities with the warming sun.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 28, 2023

We even come to identify with the elusive, fossorial animal, its plight not so different from our own.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2022

By the standards of fossorial animals—those that burrow or live underground—rabbit holes are not particularly impressive.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 4, 2015

Probably the fossorial members of the fauna are the least well represented in the collection, for such widespread species as Dermophis mexicanus mexicanus, Rhadinaea decorata decorata and Tantilla schistosa schistosa were expected, but not found.

From Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala by Duellman, William E.