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heterocercal

[ het-er-uh-sur-kuhl ]
/ ˌhɛt ər əˈsɜr kəl /

adjective Ichthyology.

having an unequally divided tail, characteristic of sharks, rays, and skates.

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Compare diphycercal, homocercal.

Origin of heterocercal

1830–40; hetero- + Greek kérk(os) a tail + -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM heterocercal

het·er·o·cer·cal·i·ty [het-er-oh-ser-kal-i-tee], /ˌhɛt ər oʊ sərˈkæl ɪ ti/, noun

Words nearby heterocercal

heteroatom, heteroauxin, heteroblastic, heterocarpy, heterocellular, heterocercal, heterochlamydeous, heterochromatic, heterochromatin, heterochrome, heterochromia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for heterocercal

British Dictionary definitions for heterocercal

heterocercal
/ (ˌhɛtərəʊˈsɜːkəl) /

adjective

ichthyol of or possessing a tail in which the vertebral column turns upwards and extends into the upper, usually larger, lobe, as in sharksCompare homocercal

Word Origin for heterocercal

C19: from hetero- + Greek 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