supracaudaln.adj.
/ˌsuːprəˈkɔːdl/, /ˌsjuːprəˈkɔːdl/, U.S. /ˌsuprəˈkɔd(ə)l/, /ˌsuprəˈkɑd(ə)l/ Zoology.
A. n.
A bone, gland, etc., situated on or in the upper part of an animal's tail.
ΚΠ
1839 Jrnl. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 8 164 The marginal plates are twenty-three in number, viz.: eleven on each side, and a supracaudal, which is single.
1882 Proc. U.S. National Mus. 442 The nuchal is small, quadrilateral, largest in front, or square; the supra-caudal is quadrilateral, but considerably less than twice as broad as high.
1910 G. M. Allen Solenodon Paradoxus 94 Lateral line nearly straight from the ocular and the orbital sections backward to a point below the origin of the supracaudal.
1998 W. R. Branch Field Guide Snakes & Other Reptiles Southern Afr. (ed. 3) 34 The supracaudal is undivided with a smooth underside.
B. adj.
Situated on or in the upper part of the tail.
ΚΠ
1890 Proc. Zool. Soc. 180 The supracaudal muscle is the direct continuation backwards of the spinalis dorsi.
1926 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1925 77 192 Supracaudal lobe slightly more produced than subcaudal, latter with trace of lobe.
2000 Cats Oct. 29/2 On the upper surface of the tail..lies the supracaudal organ, sometimes called the tail gland.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1839