perissodactyl

American  

[puh-ris-oh-dak-til] / pəˌrɪs oʊˈdæk tɪl /

Also perissodactyle

adjective

1. having an uneven number of toes or digits on each foot.

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noun

1. any mammal of the order Perissodactyla, comprising the odd-toed hoofed quadrupeds and including the tapirs, rhinoceroses, and horses.

perissodactyl British  

/ pəˌrɪsəʊˈdæktɪl, pəˌrɪsəʊˈdæktaɪl /

noun

1. any placental mammal of the order Perissodactyla, having hooves with an odd number of toes: includes horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Perissodactyla

perissodactyl Scientific  

/ pə-rĭs′ō-dăk′təl /

1. Any of various hoofed mammals of the order Perissodactyla, having one or three hoofed toes on each hindfoot. During the Tertiary Period, perissodactyls were the dominant herbivorous fauna. Horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses are perissodactyls.

2. Also called odd-toed ungulate

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Other Word Forms

• perissodactylous adjective

Etymology

Origin of perissodactyl

1840–50; < New Latin perissodactylus < Greek perissó ( s ) uneven, literally, beyond the norm, strange (derivative of périx (preposition and adv.) round about, akin to perí; peri- ) + -daktylos -dactylous

Example Sentences

Nearer and nearer, 50 yards, 40 yards, 30 yards�crack! a bullet sped from York's rifle ... a perissodactyl monster lay dead!

From Time Magazine Archive

The plantigrade pentadactyl foot of the primitive Ungulate—and even the perissodactyl foot that succeeded it—both belong to the past humid period of the world’s history.

From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol. 1 and 3, of 3) An Exposition of the Darwinian Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions by Romanes, George John

This is because of our still very incomplete knowledge of several perissodactyl genera of the Eocene, any one of which may eventually prove to be the ancestor sought for.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)

In the further reduction of the perissodactyl foot, the fifth digit, being shorter than the remaining three, next left the ground, and gradually disappeared.

From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol. 1 and 3, of 3) An Exposition of the Darwinian Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions by Romanes, George John

The tapirs are an ancient family which has changed but little since it separated from the other perissodactyl stocks in the early Tertiary.

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon