Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A taxonomic genus within the family Myrmecobiidae — the numbat..

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek μύρμηκος (murmēkos, "ant’s"), genitive of μύρμηξ (murmēx, "ant"), + βίος (bios, "life, living") (hence "living off ants").

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Examples

  • The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus, VU) is a marsupial 'anteater' that is the only member of its entire family.

    Biological diversity in Southwest Australia 2008

  • The squirrel-sized numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus, VU), is one example - the marsupial equivalent to the anteaters of South America and also known by the names of walpurti or banded anteater, the numbat is the only member of the family Myrmecobiidae.

    Biological diversity in Southwest Australia 2008

  • Wales, South Australia, and the North-west Coast; but they are not found in Van Diemen's Land, and the genus Myrmecobius appears to be peculiar to

    Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2 George Grey 1855

  • Still older than the above are some fossil quadrupeds of small size, found in the Upper Trias of Stuttgart in Germany, and more lately by Mr.C. Moore in beds of corresponding age near Frome, which are also of a very low grade, like the living Myrmecobius of

    The Antiquity of Man Charles Lyell 1836

  • A number of endangered or restricted range mammals are found in this ecoregion, including the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus VU), chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii VU), woylie (Bettongia penicillata), tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii), ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis VU), southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus), and red-tailed phascogales (Phascogale calura EN).

    Southwest Australia woodlands 2008

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