Xenopus
(ˈzɛnəpəs)
[mod.L. (coined in Ger. by J. G. Wagler 1827, in Isis von Oken XX. 726/2), f. xeno- + Gr. πούς, πόδ- foot.]
A toad of the African genus Xenopus, which has claws on its digits and which was formerly used in pregnancy testing, as it produces eggs when injected with the urine of a pregnant woman; a clawed toad.
| 1890 Proc. Sci. Meetings Zool. Soc. 70 Xenopus is a most admirable swimmer, and remarkable for the manner in which it remains poised for a long time immediately under the surface of the water. 1955 [see œstradiol]. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XI. 803/2 In the toad Xenopus, each group of hair cells in a neuromast connects to its own nerve fibre. |