| 释义 |
‖ Ornithodelphia, n. pl. Zool.|ɔːnaɪθəʊˈdɛlfɪə|
[mod.L. (De Blainville 18..), f. ornitho- + Gr. δελϕ-ύς womb + -ia2.]
De Blainville's name for the lowest of the three sub-classes of the Mammalia, identical with the Prototheria of later zoologists. The sub-class, deriving its name from the ornithic character of the reproductive organs, consists of a single order, the Monotremata, containing the two genera Echidna and Ornithorhynchus. Hence ornithoˈdelphian, ornithoˈdelphic, ornithoˈdelphid, ornithoˈdelphous, adjs., of, belonging to, or of the nature of the Ornithodelphia.
1871Huxley Anat. Verteb. An. 114. 1872 Mivart Elem. Anat. 18 The 3rd sub-class is called Ornithodelphia, and the animals comprised within it are termed Ornithodelphous mammals. 1879D. M. Wallace Australas. iii. 57 The lowest group of mammals—the sub-class Ornithodelphia or Monotremata, consisting of two of the most remarkable animals on the globe. |