Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The typical and only genus of the family Ornithorhynchidæ. There is but one species, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, or O. paradoxus, the duck-billed platypus, duckbill, duck-mole, or water-mole, inhabiting Australia and Tasmania, of aquatic habits, living in burrows in the banks of rivers, laying eggs, and feeding on insects, mollusks, and worms. The fur is thick and soft, of a glossy dark-brown color. The fact that the animal is oviparous (though not generally credited till 1884) has long been known, and the egg was figured many years ago. The eggs are about ¾ inch long by ½ inch broad, white, with a flexible shell or pod, like a “soft-shelled” hen's egg. See cuts under
duckbill and interclavicle. - n. [lowercase] An animal of this genus; a duckbill.
Wiktionary
- n. A platypus, (genus Ornithorhynchus).
WordNet 3.0
- n. type genus of the family Ornithorhynchidae
Etymologies
- From the genus name. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“John Cox presented the commander with two specimens of the water-mole, also called the ornithorhynchus, a curious amphibious creature, the habits of which are still little known to European naturalists, many museums not possessing a single specimen.”
Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century
“The guest had little difficulty, in recognising the uncouth form of the ornithorhynchus, or water-mole; but he turned with yet more eagerness, towards the spot, whence that shot had proceeded.”
“Sir Henry saw that his guest was puzzled by this dialogue, and good-naturedly showed him the distinguishing characteristic of the male ornithorhynchus -- the spur on the hinder foot, which is hollow, and transmits an envenomed liquid, secreted by a gland on the inner surface of the thigh.”
“It is not true, for instance, when a person is presented with a strange object, say an _ornithorhynchus_, and realizes it in only a vague way, that any mere analysis of the object will discover for him the various characteristics which are to synthesize into a knowledge of the animal.”
“Unless, for instance, the person already knew certain characteristics of both birds and animals, he could not interpret the ornithorhynchus as a bird-beaked animal.”
“Nearly the same remarks are applicable if we look to the different grades of organization within the same great group; for instance, in the vertebrata to the coexistence of mammals and fish; amongst mammalia to the coexistence of man and the ornithorhynchus; amongst fishes to the coexistence of the shark and the lancelet (Amphioxus), which later fish in the extreme simplicity of its structure approaches the invertebrate classes.”
“But we must state that it is scientifically false to ask oneself if the dog be beautiful, and the ornithorhynchus ugly; if the lily be beautiful, and the artichoke ugly.”
“Then I'll buy a pet armadillo or an ornithorhynchus instead," threatened the Master.”
“An early European settler in Australia, in conjecturing whether his garden had been ravaged by a bird or by a quadruped, would not light readily on the conception of an ornithorhynchus; and assuredly no one accustomed only to ordinary men and women could have divined the character, the training, and the position of Charlotte Brontë, as they have been made known to us by her biographer's unsparing revelations.”
“Beginning with the lowlier group of mammals we find in the base of the series the ornithorhynchus and its allies, creatures which have nothing to recommend them but their exceeding organic peculiarities that render them attractive to the naturalist, but which are not likely to win them”
Domesticated Animals Their Relation to Man and to his Advancement in Civilization
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ornithorhynchus’.
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Australasian mammals
Australasian mammals, monotremes, anteater, duckbill, echidna, giant anteater, ornithorhynchus, platypus, porcupine, water mole, carnivorous marsu..., banded anteater and 220 more...
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The Aubrey/Maturin List I'm Gonna Mak...
I'm wading through Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels one by one, and someday, I'll wade through them again and list all the words I learned while reading them.
Edit: I started ma...studdingsail, carronade, mumchance, grumlin-futtocks, crosscat-harpings, holystone, sennit, orlop, orchitis, negus, kevel, altumal and 1112 more...
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Australian Fauna
endemic species of terra australis
phascogale, wombat, ornithoryncus, wambenger, tuan, potoroo, platypus, echidna, bilby, bandicoot, antechinus, numbat and 101 more...
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Anome's Words
beguile, paranthetical, geek, pedantry, thingodonta, forteana, cryptozoology, bibliophilia, tea, macropod, ornithorhynchus, juxtaterrestrial and 1 more...
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Monotremes
platypus, echidna, duckmole, watermole, duckbill, ornithorhynchus, platypod, tambreet, tachyglossus, zaglossus, barrabea, quandialla and 3 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ornithorhynchus.
chained_bear "...asked, for example, whether he had seen the platypus he looked doubtful. 'The more modern name is ornithorhynchus,' said Stephen.
'Yes, yes, I know the animal,' said Redfern. 'I have often heard it spoken of—it is not uncommon—and I was trying to remember whether in fact I had seen it or not. Probably not. Here, by the way, it is called the water-mole: the learned names would not be understood.'"
--Patrick O'Brian, The Nutmeg of Consolation, 360 Mar 8, 2008