| 释义 |
palæothere|ˈpæliːəʊθiːə(r), ˈpeɪliː-|
Also (chiefly U.S.) paleo-. Often in L. form palæoˈtherium.
[f. palæo-, paleo- + Gr. θηρίον beast.]
A perissodactyl mammal of the extinct genus Palæotherium, comprising several species of tapir-like form, varying from the size of a horse to that of a hog; their fossil remains are found in Eocene and Miocene strata. (In the Eng. form extended to other members of the extinct family Palæotheriidæ.)
1815W. Phillips Outl. Min. & Geol. (1818) 89 In the gypsum, Cuvier discovered the bones of 5 varieties of an extinct animal, which he calls palæotherium..varying in size from a sheep to a horse. 1833Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 317 On these lands we may suppose the Paleothere, Anoplothere, and Moschus of Binstead to have lived. 1854Fraser's Mag. XLIX. 141 Cuvier predicted, from the fragment of a jaw-bone, the yet undiscovered Palæothere. 1880Dawkins Early Man 143 The anoplotheres and palæotheres, the deinotheres and the mastodons..were either dragged in by the carnivores, or swept in by the flow of water.
Hence palæoˈtherian a., of or pertaining to the palæothere; characterized by the palæotheres; palæoˈtheriodont [Gr. ὀδούς, ὀδόντ- tooth] a., having teeth like those of the palæothere; n., an animal having such teeth; palæoˈtherioid, -ˈtheroid adjs., akin to the palæothere.
1834Sir C. Bell Hand 120 The lower layer of this ‘tertiary formation’ is sometimes called the product of the Palæotherian period. 1868Owen Anat. Vertebr. III. 341 The tooth assumes more of the palæotherian pattern. 1887Cope Orig. of Fittest vii. 253 Equus..has been probably derived from Palæotheriodont ancestors. Ibid. 248 Palæotheriodonts. |