ornithopod, a. and n.
(ɔːˈnɪθəʊpɒd)
[ad. mod.L. Ornithopoda (O. C. Marsh 1881, in Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 3rd Ser. XXI. 423), neuter pl., f. ornitho- + Gr. πούς, ποδ- foot.]
a. adj. Having feet like those of a bird; belonging to the Orniˈthopoda, a group or sub-order of extinct saurians, containing herbivorous Dinosauria, whose hind feet closely resembled those of birds in their structure. b. n. A member of this group. So orniˈthopodous a.
| [1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 392 Two of the sub-divisions [of Dinosaurs] (Stegosauria and Ornithopoda) show ornithic characters, especially in the hind-limb.] 1888 Lydekker in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. (1889) XLV. i. 41 Vertebræ of an Ornithopodous Dinosaur from the..Green-sand. 1933 A. S. Romer Vertebrate Paleontol. ix. 196 (caption) Dorsal and lateral views of the ornithopod dinosaur Camptosaurus. Ibid. 197 The arch of the back was stiffened in ornithopods by a latticework of tendons. 1975 Nature 23 Oct. 668/1 We describe here ornithopod dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous of western North America. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 275 Larger ornithischians, known as ornithopods, had appeared in the middle Jurassic. |