| 释义 |
‖ tucutucu|ˈtuːkuːˈtuːkuː|
Also tucutuco, tucotuco, tucatuca, tucatucu.
[Native name, imitating the grunting sound made by the animal when in its burrow.]
A rat-like burrowing rodent of the genus Ctenomys, esp. C. magellanica and C. brasiliensis; found in Patagonia and La Plata. Also, the sound made by this animal. Also attrib.
1833Darwin Jrnl. Beagle iii. (1845) 50–1 The tucutucos appear, to a certain degree, to be gregarious... They are nocturnal in their habits... This animal is universally known by a very peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the ground... The name Tucutuco is given in imitation of the sound... When angry or frightened they uttered the tucutuco. 1839Fitz-Roy Voy. Beagle II. 313 The ‘tucutucu’, a little animal like a small rabbit. 1880Lady F. Dixie Across Patagonia ix. 112 Putting his foot in an unusually deep tuca-tuca hole, my little horse comes with a crash upon his head. 1899Daily News 4 May 4/3 Patagonia was always noted for its strange ground game, as armadillos and tucotucos. 1904Times, Lit. Suppl. 11 Nov. 347/2 They rode northwards towards the Andes..knee-deep mud and tucutucu country (earth undermined by prairie rat) were common everywhere. |