‖ Ornithodelphia, n. pl. Zool.
(ɔːnaɪθəʊˈdɛlfɪə)
[mod.L. (De Blainville 18..), f. ornitho- + Gr. δελϕ-ύς womb + -ia2.]
De Blainville's name for the lowest of the three sub-classes of the Mammalia, identical with the Prototheria of later zoologists. The sub-class, deriving its name from the ornithic character of the reproductive organs, consists of a single order, the Monotremata, containing the two genera Echidna and Ornithorhynchus. Hence ornithoˈdelphian, ornithoˈdelphic, ornithoˈdelphid, ornithoˈdelphous, adjs., of, belonging to, or of the nature of the Ornithodelphia.
| 1871 Huxley Anat. Verteb. An. 114. 1872 Mivart Elem. Anat. 18 The 3rd sub-class is called Ornithodelphia, and the animals comprised within it are termed Ornithodelphous mammals. 1879 D. M. Wallace Australas. iii. 57 The lowest group of mammals—the sub-class Ornithodelphia or Monotremata, consisting of two of the most remarkable animals on the globe. |