Search the Dictionary

An extinct genus of mammals closely allied to the elephant, but having less complex molar teeth, and often a pair of lower, as well as upper, tusks, which are incisor teeth. The species were mostly larger than elephants, and their romains occur in nearly all parts of the world in deposits ranging from Miocene to late Q…

Pain occuring in the mamma or female breast, -- a form of neuralgia.

The natural history of Mammalia.

An extinct quaternary mammal, of great size, allied to the sloth.

One of a group which includes the higher orders of mammals, having a large size as a typical characteristic.

An extinct gigantic quaternary mammal, allied to the ant-eaters and sloths. Its remains are found in South America.

West Indies, is often cultivated, and sometimes called Turk's cap. (b) The related genus Mamillaria, in which the stem is tubercled rather than ribbed, and the flowers sometimes large. See Illust. under Cactus.

A genus of mammals, including the skunks.

An ovum, as that of a mammal, only partially composed of germinal matter, that is, consisting of both a germinal portion and an albuminous or nutritive one; -- opposed to holoblast.

An extinct mammal of the Horse family, but not larger than a sheep, and having three toes on each foot.

A process projecting backward and downward from the acromion of the scapula of some mammals.

A tubercle projecting from the anterior articular processes of some vertebræ; a mammillary process.

An extinct genus of small Triassic mammals, the oldest yet found in European strata.

One of a group of mammals having a small size as a typical characteristic. It includes the lower orders, as the Insectivora, Cheiroptera, Rodentia, and Edentata.

A white fluid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals for the nourishment of their young, consisting of minute globules of fat suspended in a solution of casein, albumin, milk sugar, and inorganic salts. "White as morne milk." Chaucer.

A carnivorous mammal of the genus Putorius, allied to the weasel. The European mink is Putorius lutreola. The common American mink (P. vison) varies from yellowish brown to black. Its fur is highly valued. Called also minx, nurik, and vison.

An extinct Miocene mammal of the Horse family, closely related to the genus Anhithecrium, and having three usable hoofs on each foot.

The group that includes all ordinary or placental mammals; the Placentalia. See Mammalia.

Mating with but one of the opposite sex; -- said of birds and mammals.

A subclass of Mammalia, having a cloaca in which the ducts of the urinary, genital, and alimentary systems terminate, as in birds. The female lays eggs like a bird. See Duck mole, under Duck, and Echidna.