prototherian

English - English

Definition of prototherian in English English dictionary

Belonging or pertaining to the subclass Prototheria of monotremes

the modern remaining prototherian lines are the Australian and New Guinean monotremes, egg-laying mammals now represented by the grub- and shrimp-eating platypus (Ornithorhyncus) and ant-eating echidna (Tachyglossus and Zaglossus).

Any of the egg-laying mammals of the subclass Prototheria; a monotreme

Monotremes (prototherians), which include the duck-billed platypus, and short- and long-beaked echidnas, have a cloaca—a single opening for the fecal, urinary, and reproductive tracts.

primitive oviparous mammals found only in Australia and Tasmania and New Guinea

Hyphenation

pro·to·the·ri·an

Etymology

() From Prototheria Ancient Greek πρωτο- (proto-, “proto-, first”) + θηρίον (thērion, “beast”).