pro·bos·cid·e·an

also pro·bos·cid·i·an (prō′bə-sĭd′ē-ən, prō-bŏs′ĭ-dē′ən)

Any of various mammals of the order Proboscidea, including elephants and their extinct relatives, usually having a trunk and tusks.

adj.

Of or belonging to the order Proboscidea.

[From New Latin Proboscidea, order name, from Latin proboscis, proboscid-, proboscis; see proboscis.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

proboscidean

(ˌprəʊbɒˈsɪdɪən) or

proboscidian

adj

(Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Proboscidea, an order of massive herbivorous placental mammals having tusks and a long trunk: contains the elephants

(Animals) any proboscidean animal

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pro•bos•cid•e•an

or pro•bos•cid•i•an

(ˌproʊ bəˈsɪd i ən, -bɒ-, proʊˌbɒs ɪˈdi ən)

adj.

1. belonging or pertaining to the Proboscidea, an order of massive tusked mammals with a flexible trunk and columnar legs, comprising the elephant and the now extinct mammoth and mastodon.

2. a proboscidean animal.

[1825–35; < New Latin Proboscide(a) (Latin proboscid- (s. of proboscis proboscis) + -ea, neuter pl. of -eus -eous) + -an¹]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

proboscidean - massive herbivorous mammals having tusks and a long trunk

proboscidian

eutherian, eutherian mammal, placental, placental mammal - mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials

order Proboscidea, Proboscidea - an order of animals including elephants and mammoths

elephant - five-toed pachyderm

mastodon, mastodont - extinct elephant-like mammal that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differ from mammoths in the form of the molar teeth

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

THE PROBOSCIDEAN IVORY ADORNMENTS FROM THE HYPOGEUM OF PADRU JOSSU (SANLURI, SARDINIA, ITALY) AND THE MEDITERRANEAN BELL BEAKER

Los objetos de adorno en marfil deproboscideos del hipogeo de Padru Jossu (Sanluri, Cerdena, Italia) y el Campaniforme mediterraneo

Bodily configurations of elephants, including homeothermy, hair, dry skin, condition the desirability of commodified haptic experiences, which would be different and unappealing if Proboscidean bodies were scaly, slimy or rough (Lorimer, 2007).

Lively commodities and encounter value

So now I'm looking out for the Transparent Container Stall - (Bottles) or by the same logic the White Elephant could be the Albino Proboscidean. Hmm DIARY DATES SUNDAY: St Matthew's Dinnington.

OPEN LETTER TO A FRIEND

Barytherium is a genus of an extinct family (Barytheriidae) of primitive proboscidean that lived during the late Eocene and early Oligocene ages in North Africa.

Bones of primitive elephant species found in Dhofar

The family tree of elephants, mammoths, and mastodons can be traced back 55,000,000 years to when the proboscidean order originated in Africa.

Titans of the Ice Age

Leptarctus and the proboscidean taxon are both rare Great Plains taxa (for this time interval), and these specimens increase the amount of information that is already known from them.

Paleontology and Geology of the Fort Randall formation at Feyereisen Gap, Gregory County, South Dakota

& TASSI, P., 2005.- Advances in proboscidean taxonomy & classification, anatomy & physiology, and ecology & behavior.

Revision de la fauna pleistocenica gomphotheriidae en Colombia y reporte de un caso para el Vvalle del Cauca

Stable isotope evidence for an amphibious phase in early proboscidean evolution, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 5786-5791.

Putting Darwin in his place: the need to watch our language

Creatures in the proboscidean genus Moeritherium have been known for more than a century, but scientists have never agreed about how the animals lived, says Alexander G.S.C.

Elephant kin liked the water: isotopes in tooth fossils add new clues to debate

Global archaeological evidence for proboscidean overkill.

Decay characteristics of the eastern Lapita design system

The past sixty-odd years of proboscidean study in Michigan have been especially important, because during this interval efforts have shifted from the collection, recording, and exhibition of large mastodont and mammoth remains to an attempt to answer many biological questions about them.

Michigan's ice age behemoths: selected papers on mastodonts and mammoths from the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters