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tamandua

[tuh-man-doo-uh, tuh-man-doo-ah]
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noun
  1. a tree-dwelling, tropical American anteater, Tamandua tetradactyla, having a prehensile tail, four-clawed forelimbs, and coarse, tan hair with black markings on the trunk.
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Also tam·an·du [tam-uh n-doo] /ˈtæm ənˌdu/.

Origin of tamandua

1605–15; < Portuguese < Tupi: literally, ant-trapper
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tamandua

Historical Examples

  • I observe that Rudolphi distinctly refers to this edentate as the tamandua.

    Parasites

    T. Spencer Cobbold

  • Tamandua has also retia, which are also found in the Spider-monkeys.

  • When left by the tamandua to their own devices there were myriads still surviving.

  • The second species of tamandua—that is, in size—is quite a different creature.

  • Figs. 107 and 108 show the entire abdominal portion of the alimentary tract in Tamandua bivittata, the little ant-eater of Brazil.

British Dictionary definitions for tamandua

tamandua

tamandu (ˈtæmənˌduː)

noun
  1. a small arboreal edentate mammal, Tamandua tetradactyla, of Central and South America, having a prehensile tail and tubular mouth specialized for feeding on termites: family MyrmecophagidaeAlso called: lesser anteater
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Word Origin

C17: via Portuguese from Tupi: ant trapper, from taixi ant + mondê to catch
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