interclavicle

American  

[in-ter-klav-i-kuhl] / ˌɪn tərˈklæv ɪ kəl /

noun

Zoology.

1. a median membrane bone developed between the collarbones, or in front of the breastbone, in many vertebrates.

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interclavicle British  

/ ˌɪntəkləˈvɪkjʊlə, ˌɪntəˈklævɪkəl /

noun

1. a membrane bone between and beneath the clavicles, present in some fossil amphibians, all reptiles except snakes, and monotremes

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Other Word Forms

• interclavicular adjective

Etymology

Origin of interclavicle

First recorded in 1865–70; inter- + clavicle

Example Sentences

The interclavicle is absent from all mammals except Echidna and Ornithorhynchus.

From Dragons of the Air An Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles by Seeley, H. G.

Subsequent elimination of the interclavicle in the Anuran line of descent, and decrease of ossification, left a girdle like that of Protobatrachus, Notobatrachus, Ascaphus and Leiopelma.

From The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

Episternum, ep-i-ster′num, n. the interclavicle: the epiplastron: the presternum of mammals.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

The posterior end of the interclavicle lies in contact with the right scapulocoracoid.

From A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

It is clear that the paired elements of such a girdle were held rigid by their attachment to the interclavicle, via the clavicles.

From The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)