‖ Craniˈata, Craniˈota, n. pl. Zool.
[f. L. crāni-um and Gr. κρᾱνί-ον, with respective suffixes, as in pinnata, πτερωτά. Introduced in the latter form by Hæckel, but generally used in the former by English naturalists.]
A primary division or branch of the Vertebrata (q.v.), including those which possess a brain and skull, i.e. the Mammalia, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibia, and Fishes.
| 1878 Bell Gegenbauer's Comp. Anat. 413 In the Craniota [it] gives rise, by concrescence and differentiation, to a head. 1881 Athenæum 15 Jan. 98/2 We should have liked to have seen a marked distinction made between..the lampreys and the remainder of the Craniota. |