monodon

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of delphinoid odontocete cetaceans, containing only the narwhal, M. monoceros, distinguished by its unique dentition. With the exception of some rudimentary and irregular teeth, the whole dentition consists of a pair of teeth lying horizontally in the jaw; in the female they remain embedded and cemented in their sockets, but in the male the left one grows into an enormous tusk, like a horn projecting from the forehead, sometimes half as long as the entire animal, straight, slender, cylindrical, but spirally grooved sinistrally, and thus resembling a rope. The vertebræ are 50 in number, the ribs 11; the cervicals are normally free, and there is no dorsal fin. See cut under narwhal.
2. n. In conchology, same as Monodonta.

Wiktionary

1. n. zoology Any toothed whale (such as the narwhal) of the family Monodontidae

WordNet 3.0

1. n. type genus of the Monodontidae