microsmaticadj.
/mʌɪkrəzˈmatɪk/, U.S. /ˌmaɪkrəzˈmædɪk/ Zoology.
Having relatively poorly developed olfactory organs; having a relatively poorly developed sense of smell.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [adjective] > having a snout > having poorly developed olfactory organs
microsmatic1890
1890 W. Turner in Jrnl. Anat. 25 106 I propose..to arrange the Mammalia in relation to the development of the olfactory apparatus into three groups:—(a) Macrosmatic... (b) Microsmatic, where the olfactory apparatus is relatively feeble... (c) Anosmatic.
1891 Proc. Zool. Soc. 582 The olfactory bulbs and ethmo-turbinals are present, but only moderately well-developed in this animal [sc. the platypus]; it therefore belongs to the group named by Sir W. Turner..Microsmatic.
1962 Science Survey 3 260 In the microsmatic bats and in man only a very small area [of the nasal labyrinth] is olfactory.
1971 Nature 6 Aug. 396/2 Olfactory communication is now known to be important in determining the interaction between the sexes in a microsmatic higher primate, namely, the rhesus monkey.
1996 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93 10902/2 Comparisons of the arrays of olfactory receptor genes of macrosmatic mammals such as dogs with microsmatic mammals such as humans will provide a broader picture of changes in the gene family.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1890