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solenodon

[suh-lee-nuh-don, -len-uh-]
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noun
  1. either of two insectivores of the genus Solenodon, resembling a large shrew and having small eyes, a long and pointy snout, and a scaly tail, including the coarse-haired, reddish-brown to grayish-black S. paradoxus of Hispaniola and the finer-haired, usually darker S. cubanus of Cuba: S. paradoxus is an endangered species; S. cubanus is rare and possibly endangered.
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Origin of solenodon

1830–40; < New Latin < Greek sōlḗn channel, pipe, syringe + -odōn -toothed (see -odont)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for solenodon

Historical Examples

  • The other is a peculiar insectivore (Solenodon paradoxus), the only other representatives of whose family are found in Madagascar.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7

    Various

  • The occurrence of one aberrant group (Solenodon) in the West Indies is, however, noteworthy.

British Dictionary definitions for solenodon

solenodon

noun
  1. either of two rare shrewlike nocturnal mammals of the Caribbean, Atopogale cubana (Cuban solenodon) or Solenodon paradoxus (Haitian solenodon), having a long hairless tail and an elongated snout: family Solenodontidae, order Insectivora (insectivores)
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin, from Latin sōlēn sea mussel, razor-shell (from Greek: pipe) + Greek odōn tooth
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