| 释义 |
prosimian, a. and n. Zool.|prəʊˈsɪmɪən|
[f. mod.L. Prōsimia, generic name (Brisson 1756), Prosimiæ pl. (Storr 1780), Prosimii pl. (Illiger and Goldfuss 1811) (f. pro- (? pro-1 4, or pro-2 1) + simia ape) + -an.]
A. adj. Of, belonging to, or designating prosimians. So proˈsimious a.
B. n. A mammal belonging to the suborder Prosimii, a group of primitive, mostly arboreal primates, which includes lemurs, lorises, galagos, and tarsiers.
1858Mayne Expos. Lex., Prosimius... Applied by Illiger and Goldfuss to a Family (Prosimi..) of the Mammifera, comprehending those which, under different relations, approach the Simiæ: prosimious. 1890Cent. Dict., Prosimian [adj. and n.]. 1925Bull. Geol. Soc. China IV. 142 In some area intermediate between the Oriental and Ethiopian regions the centre of prosimian dispersal was located. 1945Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. LXXXV. 181/2 It seems quite possible that New World and Old World monkeys arose independently from Eocene prosimians... Their prosimian ancestors, if distinct, must have been closely allied. 1959New Scientist 10 Dec. 1175/1 Professor Schultz considers that the very important exploratory function of the hands of simians superseded the tactile sense of the prosimians (such as the lemurs). 1966[see high a. 6 d]. 1972T. A. Vaughan Mammalogy vii. 117 (caption) Hands and feet of some prosimian primates. 1974Sci. Amer. Apr. 127/1 The prosimians and the tenrecs, unlike any other mammals, respond sharply to external temperature. 1977P. Napier Lemurs, Lorises & Bushbabies i. 9 The lemurs, lorises and bushbabies are called prosimians. |