‖ tanrec, tenrec
(ˈtæn-, ˈtɛnrək)
Also 8 tondruck, tendrac.
[= F. tanrec, ad. Malagasy tàndraka, dial. form of tràndraka, the native name.]
An insectivorous mammal, Centetes ecaudatus, allied to the hedgehog, and covered with spiny bristles intermixed with silky hairs; the Madagascar hedgehog. Also, any species of the genus Centetes or family Centetidæ.
| 1729 R. Drury Madagascar (1890) 81 A creature which I call a ground-hog, and which in their language is called ‘tondruck’. 1785 Smellie tr. Buffon's Nat. Hist. (1791) VII. 86 The Tanrecs or Tendracs are small East Indian animals, which have some resemblance to our hedgehog. 1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. II. xxiv. 514 The hedgehog and tenrec present..something more than an analogy to the porcupines and some of the rats. 1852 Th. Ross Humboldt's Trav. II. xvii. 134 The tanrecs, or Madagascar hedgehogs,..pass three months of the year in lethargy. 1879 E. P. Wright Anim. Life 69 The Spiny Tanrec (Ericulus spinosus) is considerably smaller than the previously-mentioned species [Centetes ecaudatus]. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 8 Sept. 8/2 Two curious little creatures,..called Tenrecs.., have just been added to the Zoo. |