arboreal
/ɑːˈbɔːrɪəl
/adjective
1Living in trees: arboreal rodents...
- The Siberian flying squirrel is a nocturnal arboreal rodent, which nests in tree cavities, twig dreys, and nest-boxes.
- The authors remind us that no living primate has such hands and feet ‘for any purpose other than to meet the demands of full or part-time arboreal (tree dwelling) life.’
- Within the ground beetle family, a few eat seeds, a few concentrate near water, and some readily climb trees and consume arboreal insects, including aphids and forest tent caterpillars.
1.1Relating to trees.With nearly 1,100 species of indigenous trees, South Africa is extremely rich in arboreal diversity....
- More than 800 people saw a pre-festival viewing of the one-hour documentary that showcases American history through the stories of 21 historic arboreal treasures.
- On the steep bluffs north of downtown Seattle grows an impressive array of what is arguably the Pacific Northwest's most beautiful arboreal treasures: the Pacific madrone.
Derivatives
arboreality
- But both types of features were already present in larger non-avian theropods that neither climbed nor flew, and the claw and foot proportions of Archaeopteryx do not argue for arboreality any more than for grounddwelling.
- There is no persuasive evidence indicating arboreality in dromaeosaurs, although that negative evidence does not preclude arboreality altogether.
- We cannot rule out the possibility that a dromaeosaurid could climb a tree, but none of them show obvious modifications specifically for arboreality.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin arboreus, from arbor 'tree', + -al.