dicynodont

noun

di·​cyn·​o·​dont (ˌ)dī-ˈsi-nō-ˌdänt 

-ˈsī-

: any of a suborder (Dicynodontia) of small, herbivorous, therapsid vertebrates with reduced dentition

dicynodont adjective

Examples of dicynodont in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While dicynodonts and humans never overlapped on the planet, dicynodont fossils have been found everywhere in the Karoo. —Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024

The parallels in the drawing to the dicynodont fossils are striking. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 19 Sep. 2024

Pentasaurus goggai, the Late Triassic dicynodont from South Africa that many paleontologists thought couldn’t be. —Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2018

To work out how these animals evolved their tusks, Dr. Whitney and her colleagues collected bone samples from 10 dicynodont species, among them the tiny, big-eyed Diictodon and the tank-like Lystrosaurus. —New York Times, 28 Oct. 2021

Examining the dicynodont skulls, the team found that a shift occurred midway through the group’s evolution: the appearance of soft tissue attachments supporting the teeth, akin to the ligaments present in modern mammals. —New York Times, 28 Oct. 2021

This included the dicynodonts, of which the new species is a member, and other ancient relatives of mammals. —John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 22 Nov. 2018

The creature, given the scientific name Lisowicia bojani, belongs to the dicynodonts, which were some of the first large herbivores. —John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 22 Nov. 2018

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin dicynodont- (taken as stem of Dicynodon, genus name), from di- di- + Greek kyn- (stem of kyṓn "dog") + -odont- -odont; so named from the two canine-like tusks in the upper jaw — more at hound entry 1

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above