monotreme

mon·o·treme

M0400100 (mŏn′ə-trēm′)n. Any of various egg-laying mammals of the order Monotremata of Australia and New Guinea, whose only living members are the platypus and the echidnas.

[From New Latin Monotrēmata, order name : mono- + Greek trēma, trēmat-, perforation (from the fact that they have a single cloaca rather than an anus separate from genital and urinary orifices, as in placental mammals and marsupials); see terə- in Indo-European roots.]

mon′o·trem′a·tous (-trĕm′ə-təs) adj.

monotreme

(ˈmɒnəʊˌtriːm) n (Animals) any mammal of the primitive order Monotremata, of Australia and New Guinea: egg-laying toothless animals with a single opening (cloaca) for the passage of eggs or sperm, faeces, and urine. The group contains only the echidnas and the platypus[C19: via New Latin from mono- + Greek trēma hole] monotrematous adj

mon•o•treme

(ˈmɒn əˌtrim)

n. any egg-laying mammal of the order Monotremata, comprising only the duckbill and the echidnas of Australia and New Guinea. [1825–35; < French monotrème < New Latin monotrematus=mono- mono- + -trematus -holed, adj. use of Greek trêma, s. trēmat- hole, perforation; see -ous]

mon·o·treme

(mŏn′ə-trēm′) The most primitive type of living mammal. Monotremes lay eggs, and the females have no teats but provide milk directly through the skin to their young. Monotremes include only the duck-billed platypus, found in Australia and New Guinea, and the echidnas, found only in New Guinea.

Thesaurus

Noun

monotreme - the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheriaegg-laying mammalprototherian - primitive oviparous mammals found only in Australia and Tasmania and New Guineaechidna, spiny anteater, anteater - a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australiaechidna, spiny anteater, anteater - a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to New Guineaduckbilled platypus, duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, platypus, duckbill - small densely furred aquatic monotreme of Australia and Tasmania having a broad bill and tail and webbed feet; only species in the family Ornithorhynchidae

Translations

monotreme

(mŏn`ətrēm'), name for members of the primitive mammalian order Monotremata, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The only members of this order are the platypusplatypus
, semiaquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Tasmania and E Australia. Also called duckbill, or duckbilled platypus, it belongs to the order Monotremata (see monotreme), the most primitive group of living mammals.
..... Click the link for more information. , or duckbilled platypus, and the several species of echidnaechidna
or spiny anteater,
animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect itself by rolling into a tight bristly ball. It may reach 18 in. (46 cm) in length.
..... Click the link for more information. , or spiny anteater. Although monotremes possess the distinguishing mammalian features of hair and mammary glands, they are unique among mammalsmammal,
an animal of the highest class of vertebrates, the Mammalia. The female has mammary glands, which secrete milk for the nourishment of the young after birth. In the majority of mammals the body is partially or wholly covered with hair; the heart has four chambers, and
..... Click the link for more information. in laying eggs rather than giving birth to live young. The eggs are like those of reptiles, with large yolks and leathery shells. Like birds and reptiles, monotremes have a single opening, the cloacacloaca
, in biology, enlarged posterior end of the digestive tract of some animals. The cloaca, from the Latin word for sewer, is a single chamber into which pass solid and liquid waste materials as well as the products of the reproductive organs, the gametes.
..... Click the link for more information. , for the passage of liquid and solid wastes, the transfer of sperm, and, in the female, the laying of eggs. In addition, certain features of the skeletal structure are like those of reptiles, and the regulation of body temperature is less effective than in other mammals. Adult monotremes are toothless. The males possess spurs on their hind feet; these are connected to poison glands and are presumably used as weapons. Mammals are known to have evolved from reptiles; the monotremes probably branched off at an early stage of mammalian evolution and have retained many reptilian features. They are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Monotremata.

monotreme

mon·o·treme

monotreme

mon•o•treme

mon·o·treme

monotreme

monotreme

monotreme

mon·o·treme

monotreme

monotreme

monotreme

Synonyms for monotreme

noun the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria

Synonyms

Related Words