释义 |
pythonomorph Palæont.|paɪˈθəʊnəʊmɔːf| [ad. mod.L. Pȳthōnomorpha pl., f. python1 2 + Gr. µορϕή form.] One of the Pythonomorpha, a division of extinct reptiles allied to the existing Pythonoidea; a mosasaurian. So pythonoˈmorphic, pythonoˈmorphous adjs., belonging to or having the characters of a pythonomorph.
1880Nicholson Zoology (ed. 6) 558 To regard the Mosasauridae (= the Pythonomorpha of Cope [1875–8]) as an extinct group of the Lacertilia. 1887A. Heilprin Distrib. Anim. 327 Whether or not they are..descendants of the lacertilian pythonomorphs..still remains to be determined. 1887Günther in Encycl. Brit. XXII. 189/1 The former [order, Ophidians] is probably merely a specialized descendant of the latter [Lacertilians] or of the pythonomorphous reptiles, or perhaps of both. 1890Cent. Dict., Pythonomorphic. 1907Westm. Gaz. 21 July 12/2 The latest fossil skeleton discovered in Wyoming is one of the pythonomorphic saurians. |