Re: Living terms

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-01-23 03:11:11 EST, jpoling@infinet.com (Jeff Poling)
writes:

>   I've noticed the terms scansorial, arboreal and cursorial being used on
>the list lately.  My Websters doesn't have definitions of these.  If
>somebody would like to take a moment and compose definitions for addition to
>the Dinosaur Mailing List Dictionary, I'd be thrilled.  Add any related
>terms that you can think of.
>
>

Here's a stab at these:

Arboreal: adjective describing an organism (plant, animal, or whatever) that
spends most of its life in trees, off the ground.

Cursorial: adjective describing an animal built for rapid terrestrial
locomotion.

Scansorial: adjective describing an animal with unspecialized limbs allowing
it to grasp and climb as well as walk and run.

Also--

Graviportal: adjective describing an animal built for slow terrestrial
locomotion as a result of its comparatively heavy body weight.

And a term I coined myself:

Acronomic: adjective describing an animal that dwells in high places
(treetops, cliffs, etc.).